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THE GULOH TERROR: "

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THE BORDER HUNTRESS.

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BY W. J. HAMILTON,

AUTHOR-00F THE FOLLOWING POCKET NOVELS:

13 THE FRENCH SPY. 119 Tm: Cnossnn KNIVES.
80 EAGLE-EYE. 1:22 Kn 1mm.

102 WILD Rum. 1:4 GIANT PETE.

110 NICK, THE Scour. 135 Mun OF THE MOUNTAIN.

     
144 THE RED SCALI’ER.

      
NEVV YORK:

BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, 1“
98 “WILLIAM STREET. r ‘

     
hum “cording to Act 0! Congress. in the rear 187’. by
BEADLE AND ADAMS.
a the once of the Librarian of Congress. at Wuhlngm

 
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——   __

 
WILD NAT, THE GULCH TERROR“.

 
C II A P 'l‘ E R I.
THE WOUNDED unvme.

AMONG the foothills of the W'est, the land of the buffalo,
the grizzly and the Indian, the land of wild adventures and
savage deeds. A footstep stirs the forest leaves, and a clear
voice breaks out in a. wild song—a voice rich, full and ring-
lng:

“ No, for I am a hero‘s child ;
I‘ll hunt my qnnrry in the wild ;
And still my home this mansion mlkl.
01' all unheeded and unheeding,
I And cherish for my wnrrior‘s sake—
The ﬂower of love lies bleeding."

As the last words were yet ringing through the mountains,
I canopy of leaves was thrust aside, and a beautiful girl sprung
out into the open space. A glorious woman, worthy of the
devotion of man. 1181' dark hair, lustrous, black a night,
rolled in great masses, unconﬁned, save by the simple band
about the shapely head, half-way to her feel. IIer complex-,
ion was while and pure, the rich blood adding a delicious
glow honeath the transparent skin. Her dress was a strange
mixture of male and female attire, hut worn in so piquant a
fashion that no one could call it unt'eminine. Over trowsers
of the Turkish fushion she wore a green kirtle of strong cloth,
seeurwd at the Wuist by a. narrow belt of red leather, in which
“:13 thrust a silver-ruminth revolver and a small (bowie.
Anon-e this With a hussnr-jzleket, emln'oidered in gold and sil-
\-‘er thread. A hlnci; suit hat, with n drooping t‘enther, we:
set upon her dark curls, and her feet were incnsed in tiny
Luoeensins. Loading-stick, lmllet-pouelnand the usual appur-
tenances to n. ritlc were l‘i their proper places, and she held
in her hand a small riﬂe of the best make. ‘

  
THE BORDER HUNTRESS. , p

“ Hal ha 1 ha. i" she laughed. “ I have given Elbert the slip,
and he will go mad if he does not ﬁnd me. Oh, how happy
I am to—day. I never thought to be so happy."

I She sunk down upon a moss-covered knoll in a musing at-
titude, one small hand supporting her head, and the elbow
resting; upon the mossy sod, while the other clasped the riﬂe—

. 'harrel. Iler beautiful eyes were downcast, and a tender light

v crept into them.

“ I, who had lost all, father, mother, brother and friends,

, am happy in this wild solitude. Oh, my mother, from your L

‘ bright home beyond the blue sky, if you are looking down 
~ upon your daughter, resthor at last I have found peace." ‘
I A slight rustle in the bushes aroused her, and she sprung
quickly to her feet, throwing forward the riﬂe in a deﬁant ut- ,
. titude, her dark eyes full of courage. The noise continued,

and to her great surprise, an Indian dragged himself with, a ,
painful effort from the bushes, and fell gasping at her feet. |
She saw in a moment that she had nothing to fear from him,

for his breast had been pierced by a ball, and the blood was

“ ' ﬂowing from the wound. The face was a noble one, though

a type of the strange, unconquerable race from which he 7.
sprung. His breast and limbs were models of manly beauty,

'and his face was proud and ﬁnely out, though convulsed with

the effort to keep down his agony.

» “Matonahl” she cried. “What is this? Who has but: i

you ‘3"
He could not speak, and she ran to a spring which bubbled ‘

up at the'l‘oot of a great tree, and ﬁlling her cup with water,
,, knelt by his side and bathed his face and lips. Then, by a

‘ treat cﬂ'ort, she moved him so that his head was supported by
, .ie mossy knoll on which she had been sitting, and ﬁlling the

" ‘ . sup again, washed the blood from the wound. She saw that,

- ' although a very severe one, it was not necessarily fatal, being

wry high up, just below the collar—hone, on the right

‘ I side. , 7

“ There, there, Matonab,” she said, softly. “You will do

very Well, if we can ﬁnd the ball. I wish you could tell me .

who has done this.” i
“ White man—ha l” muttered the Indian. “Melvin—Curt t

Helm” ‘

 
, ~ \_ . ’I "  .
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FEMININE sunennr. \ , '711

a 
He dare not come to this place for his life.” i
' “ He come, Silver Star—he come,” whispered the Indian.
“ Shoot Malonah." I
“ Say no more about it, my poor fellow.
we can do for you ; but ﬁrst I will call Elbert.”
She took a small silver bugle which hung at her belt and

“ Curtis Melvin ‘t”_cried the girl, starting to her feat.
can not be.

Let me seowhat -

, low a call, three times repeated. It was answered by a simi-

iar instrument not far away, and she bent over the Indian,
with a ﬂush suil'using her beautiful faco.

“ Silver Star love Elbert; Elbert love Silver Star. Good.
Matonah is the friend of both," said the Indian, faintly. “ Mel-
vin bad heart—work evil—love Silver Star. Mus’ take his
azalp some day."

~ Silver Star, as the Indian called her, after the poetical man-
ner of his race, put her hand under the Indian’s shoulder to
remove a small stone which was causing him uneasiness. As ,_
she (lid so, her hand touched the naked skin of the warrior,
and she felt something hard and smooth bulging just behind
the shoulder-blade.

“ I think I have found the ball, Matonah,” she said. “ Turn
upon your left side, if you will trust me to remove it.”

“ Matonah trust Silver Star," replied the Indian, moving his
body painfully, so as to bring his shoulder into view. Heri
delicate ﬁngers passed over the spot where the hall protruded.
Satisﬁed that she was right,she took the bowie from her belt “
and felt the point. It was sharp as a. razor, and perfectly ﬁt-
ted for the work she had to do.

“ Silver Star has a woman's heart,” said the Indian.
her leave this work for a man’s hand.
pain until Elbert comes.”

“ Are you afraid I can not do it right, and that my hand
will tremble, Matonah ?" she said. “ Look at this.”

She went to the spring near at hand, and Sitmpilig‘, ﬁlled
the cup with water, so full indeed that it seemed as if another
drop would cause it to overﬂow. Yet, so ﬁrm was her hand,
that she raised it again and again at arm‘s length, without.
causing a. ripple on the surface.  .

e “ Good 1" said Matonah. “ Silver Stat has a man’s heart.
She shall take out the ball.”

“ Let
Matonah can bear the

 
v

/

‘ coming» by a bloody deed.

.
, ,

’ l
.

‘m nonnmn HUNTREIB.

She stooped over him again, and by a single dexterous cut.

laid bare the bullet, while not-a tremor of the ﬂesh betrayed

that the Indian felt it in the least. Then pressing hut-d upon
the ﬂesh On each side of the cut, the bullet dropped out into
her hnnd, followed by a gush of blood. She caught up a
handful of moss and dried the blood, and while engaged in
this, the sound of coming feet was heard, and a hnndsmne
young fellow in the dress of a hunter, appeared upon the
some, breathing hard, as if after a. run.

" Elsie l” he cried. “ What is this?
tonah ?"

“ I will tell you in a. moment. I have found the ball. and
here it is. As well as I can mnke out, he will do very Well
now, for the Wound is pretty high up.”

“ How is it with you, chief ‘3" said the hunter, kindly. “ Will
it be long before we hunt the deer.together ‘3"

“ No, Elbert," said the Indian. " Lest much blood, weak
as pappoose, but soon be better. Melvin bud man, and mus’
have him scalp, Elbert.”

“Melvin? What does he mean?
seen Curt Melvin, chief ?"

“ Melvin shoot,” replied the Indian, doggedly.
scalp.” .

“ It can not be," said Elbert. “ You know well enough
thut it is as much as Curt Melvin's life is worth to come here
now, after what he has done.”

“ Look at bullet,” said the Indian, quietly. “ Silver Star
got him,” '

Elbert knew well that every riﬂenmn on the border had a
rnark in his bullet-mold to distinguish his own bullets from
those of others. it “'HS n point of honor with them, in case
,of a. dispute with regard to the ownership of game, to have :13
mark by which to decide whose bullet laid it low. He took
the ball from Elsie’s hard, and looking nt it closely, saw that

Who has hurt Ma-

Surely you have not

“ Have him

’ 1t bore the mark of Curtis Melvin—two crossed daggers!

“ You two right, chief," he said, earnestly. “And the
Bcoundrel has really dared to come back, and has marked his
‘Lynch, or my name is not Elbert Spencer Give us a blast
of your bugle, Elsie, and call up the boys."

He shall taste the justice of Judge '

  
‘ h~<__~_mv A.

‘ 'K._.A_-A‘

Av«-—‘———.—A-—- A

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m 'mLL'rm BULLET; ‘ 13 '

“The girl took the bugle and sounded a call which she
lt’tléw would be understood. Elbert set to work binding up
the wounds of the Indian, who was faint from loss of blood.
Elsie kept the bugle, and from time to time repeated the call,

t and they could tell from various sounds that men were gath-

ering from all qunrters. The ﬁrst who enterid the glnde
was so remarkable in personal appearance that he deserves
special notice.

As his head showed itself above the bushes it would have
seemed that he was a boy, not more than twelve years old,
but, as he come into view, this was explained. He was one
of those freaks of nature sometimes seen, in which some part
of the frame is deﬁcient. The lower limbs of this strange
man were long and muscular, but. his body was wonderfully
short, and his head seemed to have been settled between his
powerful shoulders without aneck. His shoulders were those‘
of a giant, and his arms were of wonderful length and power.
‘Look at him well, for in him you see that celebrated scout
and guide, Long-armed Dan, well known along the bordch
The limbs from which he took his sobriquet were so long
that, when standing erect, the extended ﬁngers touched his
ankles. The face was smooth as a womnn's, with a fresh
color in the cheeks, and a high, noble forehead, surmounted
by clustering dark hair of great beauty. He was clad in
hunting-shirt, leggings and moccasins, and carried a very
heavy riﬂe, revolvers and bowie.

“ Hey, Elbert,” he said, with a good-natured smile, “what 4
made you can us in? Oh, Chisels! what’s the matter with '
the Pawnee: I’ll be bu’sted if them cussed Hudson Bay
chaps ain’t round here ag’iu.”

“ They are indeed, Dan,” said Elbert.
let.”

He laid it in the broad palm of Dan, who recoiled from
the contact as if he had touched a serpent, while a terrible
light came into his blue eyes.

“Curt Melvin, by the mortal snakes! Whar is he? I
kain‘t wait, kain't live, kaiu’t breathe until I’m on his track.
I’ll cut his heart out and feed it to the buzzards l” i

“Dan i” cried Elsie. ‘ ’

“I forgit myself,” said Dan. “ Yes, I do, but I kain’t,

“ Look at this bul-

 
,7.
l ' -_ t r y r
' Tun 303mm HUNJRESS.
 5 help it," dancing wildlylup and down the open spacerand
5 striking ' furiously at an imaginary enemy with his bowie,
“ Curt Melvin; yes. He’s a nice chap, I don’t think! You
knew Hurry Barber, Miss Elsie ?"
, “ Yes.”
“ You knowed he were killed, I s'pose ‘r”
p ‘ “ Yes, but I nevm‘ knew how, Dan," she replied.

“1’” tell you. This yer blasted Curt Melvin caught us
trapping,r on the upper Red. An honest boy Harry was, and:
believed in the North-west Comp’ny and wouldn’t take no

, words from 9. Hudson Bay mun. Melvin come down on us
and they killed him like a. (log, and I swore I'd never forgit
it. What! Harry was one of the few who never laughed
at poor Dam Newbull, because he wasn’t built [up like other
men, and Curt Melvin killed him, didn’t be? And for that

. I’ll have his life. Whar is he ; whar is he, I say ?"

“ He is somewhere in the hills, for thth bull Came from his
riﬂe. Where did you meet him, chief? Speak quick, for
Abe boys will soon be here.”

The chief described a. glen, some half a. mile distant, as
the one where ,he had received the fatal shot. He had
caught a ﬂeeting glimpse of the face of his enemy, in the not

I of ﬁring, and knew him but too well.

“ llere come the boys," cried Elbert, and as he spoke a

, motley group of men began to putlr'illtt) the opening from
nlbsides. They were the men of the border—that strange
mixture of races only to be found upon the western plains.
The volatile Frenehnum ; the stolid German; the cool, ever-
wnkeful nnd whittling Yankee; the half-breeds and pure In-
dian, in all sorts of costumes but with a genernl tendency to
grease and dirt. Reckless, good-natured looking fuces there
were in, the group, but, for all tlutt, they were men who hnd
faced dangers in many shapes and were ready to do so agnin
upon the slightest pretext. ' I

“ Scatter, and sent-ch the woods, boys,” said Elbert. ‘ “ Dan
will show you where to start from. Davis, Benton and
Forbes, stay with me and help ‘get the Pawnee into camp.
Where is Doctor Sabin ?”

“Here, Elbert, my boy," said a gray-haired but hearty-
looking old man. “ I’m with you.” i ‘

./,

 
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um assassm’s TRAIL: 5 'l
. I I ‘

The men trooped off into the woods again, following Dan,

‘while those who remained lifted the body of the Indian and

carried it away to the south, Doctor Sabin and Elsie " follow-
ing them closely. .

Long-armed Dan led his companions to the place indi-
cated by the wounded Indian, and scattered to look for
“ sign." With men who had been trailers and scouts all
their lives this was a work of short duration, and a shout

erom one of their number apprised the rest that he had found .

the trail. All rushed to the spot and found the succ¢sstu1
scout standing over a place under a Iowspreading tree, where
the grass was bent and trodden as if some creature had been
lying there. Most men would have been troubled to follow
such a clue as this, but to thesenien it was all-suﬂicient.
“Look out, boys,” said Dan, eagerly.

the sign. Let me have a look‘at it, before you say a word.’{

it.
“Yes, boys, the Injun was righi," he said.
the skunk laid down, and hyar's whar he made a rest with
his elbow when he ﬁred. He was layin’ down, and that’s all '
that saved the Pawnee’s life, for the bloody skunk knows how
to shoot, that's a fact. He had to aim up, and the ball took
a. slant."

“ Who is it?” said one of the men, for Dan had not yet
seen proper to say of whom they were in pursuit. At the
mention of the name a shout of execration burst from the
party, to whom the name seemed to be especially obnuto
ions.

“ Ah, ecelcrat !” yelled a French trapper, dancing about on
the sod. “ Zat coquin s’all die by my hand,‘certainement.
Bah /” ‘

“ Don‘t blow, Frenchy,” said Dan. “ I reckon you ain't the
only one that’s got a grudge eg'in’ Curt Melvin. Now for
trailing.”

They set to work like men who understood their business.
The forest quickly hid them from View, and not a sound
came from it to tell that they were following- with steadfast
hate upon the track of the would-be assassin oi“ Mutun’ .

“Don’t tramp on ,

,

“ Hyar’s what " \

‘1

Silent, but unwavering,tlhey followed the trail on rt run, or .

 
He knelt upon the grass and gazed long and intently upon" ‘ -

' i

 
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16 ' 7  '- TEE 1303mm HUNLREBB.

'long experience had made Dan equal to this feat. His long
limbs carried him over the ground at a pace which the others
found it hard to‘ compete with, and he was tireless as a
hound.

The truil freshened as they proceeded, and it was evident
that Melvin had not taken pains to cover it. What could
he mean by this when he knew that any man in the party
Would shoot him down like a dog upon sight ‘3 The course
led them deeper and deeper into the foot-hills; the vegetat-
tion grew less rank as they proeeeded, and they knew that
the than they sought could not be far away.

Den stopped and held up his hand. Every sound was
hushed, and these hunters of men held their breaths to lis-
ten. Then, with a warning gesture to the rest, Dun crept
forward alone, and the rest stood like. statues waiting for his
signal which they knew would come Ji. the right time.

:Suddeuly they heard a ﬁerce cry—a. yell scarcely human
—from the lips of the Long-armed Scout, and, dashing for-
ward, they found him standing alone upon the brink of a
great ﬁssure in the earth, caused by some mighty convulsion

‘ of nature, heating the air ﬁercely with his hands.

“ Escaped, by the mighty l” he yelled. “ Gone! the devil

that helped him only knows how.”

C H A P T E R I I .
WILD NAT'S CAPTIVE.

Tm: four men ,who carried the wounded Pawnee went ,

down the mountain side at a brisk pace,,nnd reached the

“place where they had pitched a camp, in a sheltered glen ..

ulmost inaccessible to a stronger, but easy of access to those
Who knew the ground. They had hardly reached the camp
and htid the Indian down upon a bed of skins, When a strange
., being came bounding into camp and bent over the wounded
'man. A grizzled, ﬁerce, suvage-looking creature, with a tow
ny beard descending to his waist, and clad almost entirely in

 
r—v‘

 
my NAT. 4 V I ‘I 17‘

.the skins of ,wild beasts, rudely stitched together with the

siuews of the deer. In one hand he carried a pondéxous
pike, which only a giant could have wielded, but which in
his grasp swung as easily as a magician’s wand. The loose
skin which formed the covering of his body was girded at
the waist by a broad belt of uutanncd leather, and in it was
thrust a long knife without a sheath. Upon his feet he were
rude moccasins, evidently made by himself, and his, head
needed no other covering than his uncut hair, which reached
below his shoulders.

Elsie recoiled in some alarm from this spectral ﬁgure, but
Elbert. whispered in her ear not to show fear of this strange
being, who would be annoyed at such conduct. on the part of
those he considered his friends.

“ It is Wild Nat," he said—“ Wild Nat, the Gulch Terror,
as be is sometimes called. Rude as he looks, he is a friend
of the North-west Company and will do us no harm.”

“ Blood, blood, blood,” whispered the strange being, as hq
laid his hand upon the breast of the Indian. “ Who has
shed it 1""

“Our enemies, Nat—the enemies of the North-west,”
said Elbert.

“Hal” said the wild man, bounding suddenly erect and
ﬂourishing his spear. “Show me the place; let Nat strike
at them, for he can strike sharp blows and keen. They fear
him, hal ha! ha! They have good cause."

“They have indeed, Nat," said Elbert, kindly, laying his
hand upon his arm. “ Do you know a man they call Curtis
Melvin t”

The creature—he could hardly be called a man—uttered a
yell at which the very mountains rung, and struck his terri-
ble spear upon the earth with such tremendous force that it
was driven nearly a foot into the sod. For some reason the

name drove him frantic, and he rolled upon the earth, utter?

ing a succession of the most fearful cries, and the trapper
shrunk away appalled. .

_“ Speak to him, Elsie, for heaven's sake,” said, Elbert.

“ The voice of a woman can charm him in‘his wildest moods
Do not fear him, but speak to him by his name.”
' “ Nat,"~said Elsie, sweetly.

 
i
J. 18 1f r ' rm: nonnns EWTBEBS

" “Hal” said the wild man, starting up to’ his knees and
' looking at'her ﬁxedly. “An angel has spoken, and Nut
,has heard the voice. Speak again. and let me hear it.” '

“ You must be very‘ quiet, for the Pawnee is badly hurt.
Will you promise to be quiet, for my sake ‘3"

“ Yes, yes. yes; Nat will be quiet, when the nngel speaks.
But he said Curtis Melvin was here, and his name always
drives Nat wild. Let me go into the mountains and ﬁnd
him. I will bring him bound and lay him at the zingel‘
feet, and then she can kill him, and Nut will look on an.
/ laugh."

I' “ Do you think you can ﬁnd him, Nat ?" said Elbert, ea-
gerly.

“ Hush l" replied Nat, waving him back with a lofty ges-
ture. “I am speaking to the angel, and she will tell Nat

. ‘ what to do. Let no son of the earth come between her and
me." ‘
“ What shall I tell him, Elbert ‘t” whispered Elsie.

‘ “ Tell Lim to go and try to ﬁnd Curt Melvin—he knows
the sconndrel well enough—and bring him here. Let him
bring him alive, if he can, for we have an account to settle

' “With him.”
“ What says the angel ?" whispered Net. “Let her speak
again.”

, i “ You must go out and ﬁnd this Melvin, as you have pro-
, mised. He is a wicked man, and will work us great evil it
*7 V , he is left at large. Find him, and bring him to' us, but be
', geareful not to hurt him."

“Nat bears, and will obey. Hn ! he! 113! He must
hide close if the Wild Man of the Gulch will not ﬁnd him.
Must I bring him to this place ‘i”

“ Yes: are you strong enough to do it '3"

‘ “The angel does not ask that of Nut 1" cried the strange

‘ \ creature, with another of his wild laughs. “See; I struck
the spear into the earth with one hand. Let one of‘ these
strong men pull it out with two.”

I The pike was, still standing upright in the earth where he
had thrust it, and Elbert seized it, and although a strong

 mun, well knit and muscular, the exertion of all his strength
could not move it. Not laughed main, and fastening upon

  
r I
m 0010118810! ACORN”.

the heft of the spear with his strong right hand, lo plucked
it easily from the earth and shook it above his head.
“Strong! Ha! ha! ha!
monntains~the Terror of the North-west—the Demon of
the wood ranges. He will bring Curt Melvin to the angel
and lay him at her feet.” ,
“ Be careful of yourself, Nat,” said Elbert. “Don’t h
him get a shot at you, for you know that he shOots close.”
“Does Nat fear him ?” cried the madman. “Who Ct: .-
kill him? Dick has tried to die, be has prayed for denthI
but something turns the bullets [May from him. The grizzly
turns aside from the path he treads, and the carcajou slinks
into the cover when he passes by. No, Nat has no fear of
Curt Melvin." '
“ G0 at once," said Elbert. “ The place where the Pawnee
was shot was in ‘ Cleft. Caﬁon,’ under the low pine bush by
the sulphur spring." ‘ ‘
The wild mun sprung forward, pressed his lips to the
hand of Elsie, and with an unearthly cry, hounded away into
the ’w00ds. ‘
“ Who is this fearful being '3” said Elsie. " Is he mad ?"'.
“ Any one can see that," replied Elbert. “ Yes, poor Nat
is mad, but who he is, or whence he come, no man can tell.
I have it from trappers and Indians that for many years he
has haunted these hills, living the life of a wild benst,'in the:
dens and caves of the mountains. In some way he has in:-
bibed the most fearful hatred of the Hudson Bay Company,
and especially of Curtis Melvin, and he neglects no opportu- "

I nity to strike a blow at any of the employees" of our on-
‘emies"

“ Where did you know him ﬁrst, Elbert 1’" ,

“ I met him strangely, in the gulch which he haunts most,-
about three miles from this place. I was out with a party,
as now, and in some way had been separated from my men.
and was attacked by three Hudson Bay men. This border
feud has been going on for years, you must understand, and.
there have been more bloody deeds done than‘ people in the
East dream of. They were too many for me, and I should,

have fared badly if, Net had not come dorm upon them , .
with one of his wild yells, and they got to their horses'and._ I , .‘

, .

Nat is the strong man of the , A I

 
“ , 20 ‘ / and: 30mm ntNTnItss.

tied for“ their lives, leaving one of their number dead behind at
them, Since then I have met Nat often, and he has always
been my friend.”

“ Poor fellow. How does he live through the cold win-
ters ?”

“ He lives in a cave—where, I do not exactly know, and
he is cunning enough to lay in a stock of provisions for the
winter, early in the fall.” ' b

‘t I should have thought he would have been killed by the
Indians, long ago.”

“ The Indians! They fear him more than any created i
"being ; and besides, no true Indian would lift his hand against
a man on whom the ﬁnger of the Great Spirit had been laid.
He is truly a wonderful man, and has done us great service
before now. Mad as he is, a keener scout or a more daring
ﬁghter I never saw. Did you notice that I depended ﬁpon 1
your inﬂuence over him, although you had never seen him ?"

“ Yes ; is a woman’s inﬂuence so great, then ?"

“ It is absolute. If you had not spoken, in a moment I
more he might have taken us for enemies, and I do not wish

sto be one of the four men he chooses to attack. Hark; I be-
lieve that the boys are coming in. I wonder if they have I
been successful?” 1

The question was soon answered, for the men began to ‘
come in with sullen faces, and it was plain that Melvin had
eluded them. Dan came sulking in, long after the rest, and
sat down in a despondent attitude, his long arms wreathed
about his knees.

“ You could not trail him, then i" said Elbert.

‘ “Trail him? Trail the devil! He broke the sign at a
gulch, twelve feet wide, and though we s’arched fur it up and
down, we couldn’t raise the color nohow. It’s enough to ,

' make a man strike his maternal ancestor." _

“ We shall have him yet, Dan. There is only one man
who can beat you at this sort of work—"

. “ Any one kin beat me. I’m a nat’ral born tool, as every
- \ one knows,” said Dan, angrily.

‘ “Not a bit of it. You are the best scout in this camp,
except one, and that one is even now upon his trail. Cut
you think who I mean t” v I

EH:

«3de

u

 
m snoop-grands!) Anew: ?

“ Was I wrong when I thought I heard Wild Nat laugh,
about half an hour ago, Elbert ?" r

“ No; you did hear him.“

“ And he’s arter Curt Melvin! Then the devil save him
if he can, for he is a gone coon. Hurray for Wild Nat, says
I I. I wish'I’d ’a‘ know‘d he were out and I’d ’a’ gone with

" him.”

“ I don’t think he would have any one, Dan," replied El-
bert. “ He always likes to go out alone."

“ I know that, but he’d take me.
think that. we ain’t either of us like ordinary men, and have
a feller-feeling in our hosoms. Leastways, he’ll take me
with him when he wouldn‘t hev no one else. What did he
go ?7)

“ I sent him to the place where the chief was shot.”

“ All right ; he’ll trail the consarned skunk, never fear.
I found something jest now, cap."

“ What was it ‘3”

“ This," said/Dan, holding up an arrow stained red with
some mountain berry. “ What do you think of that, now i"

“ War 1” replied Elbert. “ Was it meant for us ‘1’”

“ I ain’t so sure. It’s enough to know that the red arrer
never is sent unless the Injuns mean business. Ha! look at
that." .
As he spoke something glanced into the camp and struck
a large tree near at hand. Dan sprung up and grasped it,
and held up the fellow of the arrow which he had found—
also stained red. ‘

“ That's enuﬁ‘,” said the scout. “ They mean us, and the
quicker we git ready for a scrimmage the better fer us. Doe-
tor, how is the Pawnee ‘2”

“ If it were a White men who had received the wound I.
might keep him on his back for a week, but he will be ready
for another ﬁght in a day or two.”

“ Ready now,” said Matonah. “Who has sent the red ar-
row to my White brothers? Let a warrior of the Pawnees
look at it."

They placed one of the arrows in his hand and he looked .

It it with an expression of surprise and disgust. .
“ Negara is a Sioux ," he said. “ The Sioux are dogswandr

l

Somehow he seems to K ‘

 
A

3‘  ("V/
Wu- t , v‘

a
\

‘ that he spoke the truth.

’were much to be feared on many accounts.
7 which. Elbert Spencer was the leader had come out ttpon the

" Indians

"  ,i 501 an 0ﬂoer’s lady, who had taken pains to give her an edu-

' ' m *BORDER' HUNTRESS.

have always been enemies to the Pawnees. I But why should

a Sioux be a chief in the great tribe of the Blackfeet?"

“‘Do you tell us that Negara has sent this arrow, Mato- -

nah ‘1”
The Indian nodded his head in silence, and they had too
much conﬁdence in his knowledge of these matters to doubt

thing but pleasure, for he knew this Negara well, and that
he was a desperate and terrible enemy. lIe was a half-breed
Sioux, who had been driven front his tribe for ‘some great
crime, and had joined the Blackfeet, making their cause his
own. A desperate ﬁghter, a man of rare natural endow.

; ments, he had won a name for himself second to none along
' the border.

The trappers told many tales of his ferocity,
and hated him like death. His hand was trained perfectly,
and would not turn back easily from any ﬁght, and, being
well armed, skillful horsemen, and bold in their attacks, they
The party of

plains for a double purpose, partly to look out new trapping-
ground for the coming season and partly to drive out the
encroaching employees of the Hudson Bay Company, who

‘were then growing unusually hold, on account of some suc-
, cesses in the last season. Elbert had been» a captain of the

North-west Company for some years, and although a young
man, had been intrusted with the command for his known
courage and discretion.

But, who was Elsie Vedder, and what was she doing'in
this wild region, so far from civilization, living 'among half-
savage men, upon apparently equal terms? The story is soon
told, and it had been more than once repeated in the history
of the West. She had been the only one saved from an In-
dian massacre upon the plains, when a child, by an old trap-
pcr who had acted as guide to the' unfortunate party, atl'.
who had from that time reared her as his own child, since
every one who knew her had died under. the hatchets of the
This trapper, when leaving upon any of his expe-
ditions, had always left her at one of the forts, in the care of
lame friends. During that time she had attracted the notice

Elbert received the news with any "

 
p—MK’UO

  
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cation, and the girl had learned rapidly until she was accom
plished beyond any thing often attained upon the border.
Among other things she played the guitar with ease and grace,
and sung sweetly, and the camp had often been held spell-
bound ns she sung Moore's beautiful melodies. , y

The design of the expedition. utter performing the work
Issigned them in this section, was to cross the mountains and
touch one of the Company's forts upon the Upper Missouri.
At this fort the adopted father of Elsie was stationed, and he
had deputed Elbert to bring her with him when he crossed
the mountains. An old trapper himself, he hnd none of that
drend of the dangers of the prairie which might have been
telt by other men, and no fears in her making the journey hi!
safety. And as he knew that Elbert loved her and would
guard her with his life from all danger, he was quite at ease
in regard to her. ‘

While the brigade were busying themselves in fortifying L
the camp against assault, in bringing in the horses and se-
curing them’ against the danger of a stampede, and the
leaders were puzzling themselves over the probable designs
of the Indians who had sent the red arrow, they heard; far
03', the wild cry of Nat, the Terror of the Gulch, and listened
intently. ‘

“ Nut. is like a. hound, and never gives tongue unless he is
on a scent,” said Elbert. “ I should not be surprised if he
did bring Melvin into camp.”

“ I shall be suprised if he don’t,” said Dan. “ He never -
gives up. They may kill him, and of course that will end
it, but, miles. they do so, he‘s bound to have that pizen crit- K
tor.”

He was right. The night had not yet come, and the
guards were being posted, when Wild Nnt came into camp,
carrying a burden thrown across his shoulder, which he tlung
down at tlte‘fcet of Elsie, with one of his wild laughs.

‘ There he is, angel 2 I told you Not enuld bring him.”' _

It was a 1mm strongly bound with green withes, and _
bleeding from the etfect of‘a crushing stroke upon his fore.
head. \
Wild Nat llad kept his word.

  
V'm BOMB KUNM

. a B,
niti:
of 1

x , CHAPTER III. ; ‘11:“

4' ‘ THE TRIAL to
A on? of cxecration went up among the members of the
brigade as they saw the face of the man who had been i 0
brought in by Wild Nat, as the maniac rolled him over on ‘ y

his back and pointed at it. The withes were torn from his

4 limbs and he was dragged to an upright. position, and ﬁrmly l 

~, , held, while Elbert stepped out to question him. The expres- i to

v sion of the prisoner’s face was deﬁant, and his hands opened a,

and shut convulsiver as his dark eyes wandered from face h.

to face among his enemies. It was a remarkable counte- '
nance, smooth and almost girlish in its expression, looking

like that of a. boy twenty years of age, although in reality a

he was nearer forty. His hair was dark, glossy and straight
as an Indian’s. liis eyes dark and. passionate, and his hands
and feet singularly small and delicate fora man. Yet, young I

, as he looked, this was one of the most desperate characters ‘

V. upon the frontier—a man stained by many crimes, and cap-

","‘1 able of any atrocity. When he spoke his voice was smooth, l
' ‘ soft and gentle, like a. woman’s, and he never raised it from

, that gentle. ﬂowing key, even in his wildest moods. ,

' “ So you have come, Curtis Melvin ?" said Elbert. “ We ’

are right glad to welcome you.” t
' “No doubt,” replied the other. “I have come because I" ,

‘\ have been forced to do so, and I wish to ask you why '
you have set a lunatic upon me who might have taken my
life." '

i “. I would have done it," yelled Nut. “ Yes, yes, I would
have hung him up for the vultures to pick at, if the' angel
had not told me to bring him alive.”

“ So you set him on, Miss Elsie i" said Melvin, looking at

, ‘her with a strange, intent gaze. “You of all others i In the
time to come I shall remember this kindness."

' ‘ “ You ought to thank her for it, base hound," laid ElbcrL.

 
‘wH—am

    
JUDGE LYNCH.

’ “ But for her you would not now be alive. Not that it sig-
. nities much, for, unless I am much mistaken in the temper

of the men, you have not long to live."

“ Of course you will murder me," said Melvin. “ I knew
that us soon I was certain into whose hands I had fallen.
It was a womanly deed, Elsie Veddcr—u gentle act, and one
to be proud of 1“

“You are not to speak to her, Melvin,” said Elbert. “ She
has nothing to do with it, except in ordering Nat not. to do
you any harm." .

“ I appreciate her motive, which was to exnlt over my sor-
rows and see me abuse myself before you, and beg for my
life. But, by the gods of the heathen—whom I am ready
to believe in as any others—that pleasure shall be denied you
all, for I will die with my teeth set. Come; when do you
intend to murder me ?” ’

“ You shall have it fair trial, sir ; I promise that.”

“ Afaz'r trial? Hot ‘19! hal A fair trial, with you for
ajudge and your men for a jury i That is the best joke of
the season, upon my honor. I am delighted with the pros-
pect before me, and appreciate the generosity of your nature.
Bah ! go on with your fume.” '

“There is no,hurry about it,” said Elbert. “ The time
will come quickly enough, and there is not a man here who
would do you an injustice." '

“ Oh, no, certainly not. Your coolness is really refreshing,
but I am in your hands to do with us you‘may think ﬁtting.
Confound it, man, I know what Judge Lynch‘s court is, do
I not?" .

“ You ought to know," said Long-armed Dun, “ if being
hauled up by the Rigilators is any creterion to go by.”

“ Lem-nod language, upon my honor as a man,” said the
other. laughing lightly, even in the face of his deadly peril.
“I am proud to say that only one man could have tracked
me down, and that is the mad devil who has done it. It
his hide was not knife and bullet-proof he would have found
a grave in the gulch to-day. But, let it pass, I will not
waste your time, most puissant Judge Lynch."

“ Form the court 1" cried'the men. hoarszily.

, “ Wt won't
stand his talk any longer" - ,

 
\A, ' _,

rim mm: mm'rnms.
. “That is right, jurymen. _ Convicts. man before you try _ “7
him. I knew how it would he,” laughed Melvin. you
I “Elsie,” said the young captain, “I must beg you to go “
away, and at once. We have a duty to perform, and no one of ti

‘ can be more grieved than I am that it has fallen to my lot “
' to be the leader in it. Such a sight is not for you, and I beg:
beg you to go away." ‘tnan

« “. You deny her a great pleasure, and one she has no hav‘

’ ’ doubt counted on,” said Melvin, smoothly. “ Why drive her 'I
 ‘ away 2" and

\ “ You know that it is not true, Melvin," replied Elsie, and
softly. “N) one knows better than yourself how sad it is,
for me to see a man who has had it in his power—through , to t

V I natural endowments—to be a good and noble man so debased ‘ l

I and sin-stained as you are. It would not be a pleasure for ‘ cot

me to see you in your degradation." He

“ Whose fault is it that I am what I am ?” he answered, l ubt

' in the same tone he had used throughout. “You had it in WE
your power to change me utterly. I laid all I had to oﬂ‘er

at your feet and you threw it aside as an unworthy thing, dc

_ "and now you reproach me as being a. desperate man. Go  st:

V t, then, it you will, and leave me to my fate, whatever it may 1
, be.” » dt
’ I Elsie covered her face with her hands and hurried away 3 at

x from the camp, and in her wretchedness and the desire to go 
as far as possible from sight and sound of the court about to ‘ it

L be assembled, went further away than was perhaps expedient

\ and sat down in a dejected attitude at the foot of a great I ll
tree, from which she could not see the camp. Elbert waited I 0
until she was out of sight, and then turned to his men with  11
a sail look in his face. t

. “I‘Jet us get this sad business over as soon as possible," he
‘ saitl.‘ “ Who shall he judge of this court ‘t”
“ You l y/ou l” cried many voices. / I
'\ “ I accept the position,” he said, “ although’ I would much
I I‘prefer that another should occupy it. Let me suggest some
>, none, in my place, who can have no ill-feeling against the
' tu‘isoner, and will be more acceptable to him.”
' “ Who is it ?’~’,
‘ The doctor."/

' .

r

  
try

go
he
lot

H.

   
you have got to he Judge Lynch for once.”

began to murmur among themselves.
than for the position, and I will be the prosecutor, and you

, to these infernal trials, but I will act.” ,
5 counts of this kind, where civil law was a thing unknown.

" above the circle of the rest, and demanded why the court

. opposite side of the canon.

   
m mnrcmm. , '7-

“ Hurrah! Good 1" roared the men. “Come out, Doc, 3‘
“ No, no,” said the doctor. “ I know nothing of the merits

of the case, and I prefer not to act.” V t
“ Don‘t refuse, dot-tor," suid Elbert, hurriedly, as the men

“ You are the best

have only to decide the case upon the testimony."

The doctor looked once around the circle of livid facet.
and saw that a refusal to act might be visited upon himself,
and stepped into the midst of the circle.

“ I accept, boys,” he said. “ You know that I am opposed _

He could hardly blame them, for their only safety was in

He took his seat upon a rocky bowldcr, which raised him

was assembled. ,
“ To try the prisoner, Curtis Melvin, accused of the mur-
der of several persons, whose names I will state,” said Elbert,
standing forward as prosecuting attorney. I
“First: he is accused of murdering, or causing to be muro,
dered, a man named Harry Barber, on the upper Red River, /
about the 12th of September, 18—.” t
" W hat say you to this charge, prisoner?” asked the-
judge. _ r
“Bah! I shall make no plea,” replied the prisoner. As.
he spoke there was a peculiar, piercing cry coming from the
The prisoner started, raised his
head and listened intently for a moment, and then, seeming .
to Come to a decision, said, in a clear voice :
“ Not guilty." : ‘f
“ Second, he is accused of killing, by a pistol-shot, at the ' '
Royal Ranch in Kansas City,,a man named Willis Sergeant. ‘
over a game at cards.”
The prisoner made the same plea us before, and still seemed-
to listen to the sounds outside the camp. . I
“ Third, he is accused of causing to be burned at the stake ,
on the 10th of May, 18—, Burt Bentley, tarmarlye member I 
01 this, brigade. , ~ . , ‘ "

      
. ﬂ
.2./

In  mu.
\
“ Fourth, he is accused of shooting the Pawnee chief called
" Mntonnh, who now lies Wounded in this camp."

To both these charges the prisoner replied as before—not

guilty.

"‘ Bring your witnesses, Mr. Prosecuting Attorney," said the
judge.

“ As to the ﬁrst charge,” said Elbert, rising, “ I have no
witnesses to bring except Dan, the scout. Dan, tell your
story."

D51 stepped forward, and was greeted by the prisoner .in a
laughing manner, though he kept turning his head to look
across the ravine.

“On the 12th of September, 18—, I was trapping on the
upper Rec ," said Dan, “ and Hurry Bnrher was with me. We
had taken some pelts and were doing well, but that. night our
camp was struck by four men, none of whom I know'd except
Curt Melvin, the prisoner.
and got awuy after Harry was down.
prisoner strike him on the head with a hatchet, even after he
fell. This is true, so help me God."

The witness was about to step back when Melvin, who was
evidently anxious to gain time, stopped him.

“ I beg pardon of the court, but um I not at liberty to ques
tion the witness in my own behalf?"

“ Certainly,” replied the doctor.

“ Now, Dan," said the prisoner, “ this is business. You
swear, ﬁrst, that this attack was made in the night ?"

N Yes.”

,“ Was it a dark night P"

“No; the moon was shining.”

“ Had you a camp-ﬁre ‘2"

‘ “ No ; not such fools in the Injun
as you layin' round loose."
' “No reﬂections of that kind, witness,” said the doctor.
“ Answer tlic questions as they are put to you."
I “ You had no ﬁre, but the moon was shining? Your
camp was under the timber, of cou‘rse,‘ns you were good
Icouts 1""
- “ Of course.”
‘5 They how can you undertake to swear away the life of a

kentry, with such skunks

We had a ﬁght, and I broke out ‘
I swear that I saw this I

 
mat
too,

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'man whom you only saw in the uncertain moonlight, and that,
too, under the shadow of the trees ‘3”

“ I‘m tnorilly sartin it was you," said Dan, lowering his:

voice. ‘

“ Your honor," said Melville, “ you surely can not convict”
.npon such testimony as this. I have nothing more to ask
‘this witnes.” ‘

“Pass on to he next charge. Who are your witnesses,

Spencer 2’"

“Upon this charge, none of the witnesses can be produced,

, but I can prove, by unimpeachable testimony, that the priso- ’
her was convicted upon this charge in the District Court at
Kansas City. and that he afterward escaped from custody and
they have not since been able to arrest him.” t ' \-

Several men swore to being present at the trial, hearing the'

testimony and the conviction of Melvin. By artful question.

pt ing he made it appear that the person so convicted had borne

lled
not
the

no
)hr

[5‘ l another name, and that they had only heard from others that
ls  he and Melvin Were the same person.

16 ‘ In regard to the third charge, the witnesses proved that
u ‘ Melvin was with the party of Indians who had burned Bentley,

but had not taken an active part in the proceedings, although I,
, he appeared to be under no restraint, but on friendly terms
1 with the savages. ’

Matonah testiﬁed that he had seen the face of Melvin just: I
as he received the shot from the bush, and knew it well. Even
over his testimony this artful man endeavored to throw some
doubt, and had almost succeeded, when Elbert arose with a ‘ '
new piece of evidence.

“ Your honor," he said, “ with a skill worthy of a ﬁnished ' V ‘
lawyer the prisoner has conducted his own defense; but, I
propose to bring in a piece of evidence which he can not con-
trovert. Dan, remove the shot-pouch from his side and place
it in the hands of the judge. In the mean time, your

,honor, look closely at this ball, so as to be able to identify
it."

He placed a bullet in_ the hand of the doctor, while at the
same time Dan removed the bullet-pouch from the person of V y
the prisoner and laid it upon the rock. \

“ Have you looked at the ball, your honor," asked ,Elbert,

'

ll

  
VI turning a look upon the face of Melvin, who grew pale.

( i

1

THE BORDER nonrnnss.

“What is the mark ?"
. “ Two crossed daggers.”
“Now dpcn the pouch which has just been taken from the
prisoner, and compare the bullet with those it contains."
The judge did so, and found them in size, shape and

marks, to exactly coincide with the bullet he held in his‘

hand.

“ That bullet, your honor.” said Elbert, was taken from [l e

’ wound of Mutrmuh by Elsie Vedder, and given to me. W hat
better proof do you ask Y”

“How do you know that this is true ?” gasped Melvin
“ Did you see the bull removed ‘2”

“ I "did not, but Miss Vedder gave it to me when I came
up, telling me that it came from the wound."

, “ More hearsay evidence. sir," suid Melvin. “ It seems tlut
not a word of genuine evidence can be had here. I demand
that Miss Vedder give her testimony.”

‘ “ vaould not do that," said the doctor. “ Why should the
poor girl be made to grieve by giving evidence against you?
I beg you not to do it." h

“ And I insist on it. Do you think that, for fear of giving her
a moment’s pain, I will forfeit my life? She must be called,
or I impeach the justice of this so-cnlled court.”

“Oh, shet up i” cried Dun. “ You’ve had more than fair
play, and given the lie u dozen times to men whose shoes you
ain‘t no right to untie. A sentence, judge—u sentence."

“ A sentence !” cried the others.

“ No, men, no,” cried the doctor. ” I’m judge in this
court, and I won’t be dictated to by any one. Come, now;
you are determined to have Miss Vedder's testimony i’”

it Yes."

“ You demand it as a. right?"

“Yes,” he persisted.

“ Very good. Some one step out, and ask Miss Vcdder to
come this way.” ’ I ' '

Two or three men started oﬂiciously out to call her, and
went in the direction she had taken. On arriving nt \he tree
where she had sat down, tl ey were observed to start and look

anxiously shout them.

     
ale.

the

1nd
his

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hut

me

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)1]

 
{Sentence him, Judge Lynch, and let's have it over."

“ \.',,

A SIGNAL car:

  
“ What are the men doing ?" said the lodge
they hurry ?"

“ Perhaps she will refuse to come,” st id Elbert.

“ Then she must be brought,” replied the judge, impatiently
" You, Elbert. Spencer. go and bring her." ,

Elbert stepped out of the circle, with u dim foreboding of
evil in his heart, and run to the place where the men were
grouped in consultation at the foot of a. tree. As he came
up, he saw that Elsie was not there, but one of the men
pointed silently to the grass at the foot of the tree. Elbert ‘
looked wildly at it, uttered a. cry of horror, and staggered ’
back, a look of terror imprinted on his face. ‘ ‘

“ Why don’t

CHAPTER IV.

THE" EXCHANGE mm ms'r Ho'r.

WHAT had be seen to change his face so suddenly?
There, imprinted upon the soft earth was a single footprint,
made by u. moccasincd foot. That, in itself, was nothing,
but by that keen knowledge of woodcraft which Elbert had
in common with all the members of his party, he knew thut
the mark was made by an Indinn's foot. There was no sign
of a struggle, but Elsie was gone, and only this was left to
tell how, and night was coming on. Just then a. shrill, trem-
ulous cry was heurd upon the other side of the canon us be-
fore, and now Melvin bounded suddenly erect and a look of
ferocious joy came into his face. “, ,

“ At Inst, at last i" he said. “ The work is clone and 1' am ’

safe. Dolts, Cownrds, dogsl I spit at and defy you. Away
with your mock courts, your triuls for deeds of which I am ' a;
proud 2” ' ’ I. .

“You hear him i" cried Den. “He confesses his guilt,

“ You dare not, for your lives,” was the reply- “ Wait
for Elbert Spencer and see what he has to tell you.” ‘ ' , ‘ .
Even as he spoke Elbert hurried up with wild and startled \
looks. , ’ 1', ‘ .

   
82 ' “

/ l

m BORDER HUNTRESS.

“ Sheris gone, boys ; taken by the Indians.’
‘f Ha! ha! ha i” laughed Melvin. “ Taken by my friends;
you understand? Now lay a ﬁnger on me, if you dare 1”
They did understand him but too well. If any wrong was
_,,.~’done him, she must snti‘er for it, if indeed he spoke the truth,
and the poor girl was in the hands of his friends.
“You need not believe me, boys," he said. “You will
hear from my fellows before long, you may be sure. Hal
keep that devil away from me as you value the girl’s life."
” Wait, Nat, wait," cried Elbert, pushing the maniac
back as he made a rush at the prisoner, with a ﬁerce look
in his eyes. “ If you touch him now, the angel will be
killed.”

Nat fell back with a helpless look, his eyes ﬁxed upon the '. an

face of the speaker.

“-Where is she ?” he said, in a faint voice.
tell.”

“ That would do no good, Nat.
out his help.”

“ Hallo, there i" cried a voice from the other side of the
cation. “ I want to come over, but will not unless you prom-
ise that I shall'come safely."

“ Who are you ?"

“ Never mind that.
safely as I come ?"

’ “ Yes; come over.
Melvin ?” V

“ Of course; I told you that you should hear from them.”

They waited for some moments, and then a man came
scrambling up the sides of the caﬁon, and drew himself up
to the level ground. As he approached they saw it was a
half-breed, in the semi-savage dress of the bor(cr, carrying a
riﬂe, hatchet and knife.

“ How are you, boys?" he said, boldly. “ l’ve got a lit-
tle matter of business to do with you if you will allow me.
Ahl how are you, Curt '1’”

" "As well as could be expected of a man who has been
treated as I have been,” he said. “ Why the deuce didn‘t you‘
come before?" .

“ He must

We must ﬁnd her with-

Do you promise that I shall go as

That is one of your fellows, I suppose,

a

“ Ida-.1 a little business to do ﬁrst, that we couldn’t get over ‘

 
tal

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before,” he said; “ and now I am ready for work. ' I'see
you’ve not a friend of mine in limbo, Captain Spencer. May

'v I ask what you mean by that i’" ,
ﬁ‘ I want to know ﬁrst who you are, my man,” said Elbert;
‘5 “ Come ; sneak up." 
1‘! “ Oh, I‘ll do that," replied the stranger, quietly. “ My] 
, name is Hank Wilson, though I don’t know what particular ' 4 ' \ I
in good the name can do you, anyhow.” '
‘1 “ Very well, Mr. Hank Wilson; what do you want here ?”
c “ Came to look after my friend. In fact, that‘s a number I
1

of us quite anxious about him and we want him to be set
’1‘ free."
3° ' “ You are very anxious for that little favor, I suppose”
“Rather so, I should say. In fact, they won’t hear to
1° any thing else.” \

“ But, suppose we do not care to let him go, and have es-
tablished a sort of claim upon him ?” ,

“ Oh, see here, captain ; this sort of thing won‘t do. You
are only wasting valyable time to no purpose. Be so good
as to look at that little docyment.”
‘5 He put a small folded paper, a leaf torn from a note-book,
“' into the hands of Elbert, who unfolded it quickly, and read
these words, written hastily in pencil: '

“DEAR ELnEn'r: I have been taken by a body of. men,
“9 partly Indians and partly half-savage white men, who threaten
- me with a terrible death if Curtis Melvin is not released. Do
e, as you think best, for I am armed for any fate which may
await me. If any thing happens, and we can not meet again, v’
,, believe that I have been true to you and your dear love. —

“ ELSIE.”

V “ Who gave you this, you scoundrcl ‘3” said Elbert, turning I
[p savagely upon Wilson. \
‘ “ Good words, captain—good words, if you please. We i
of the border do not allow ourselves to be insulted by ‘ ‘\_
[any man, no matter who he is. The person that wrote that
letter wrote her name on the inside, you know. And sar- r
tin you ought to be able to tell whether it’s her hand-write _or
shot.”
“ You have come to make a proposal ;. out With it.” x
“ We think a. gcod deal of Curt Melvin, that’s a fact.
LWO ought to or we wouldn’t drre to make the oﬂ‘er we do. ,

m
.u‘

 
/

u

  
TREES.

 ‘ \
' THE BORDER FUN
, \ . . \

We will give up the gal for him; and nobody else ; that’s the
‘proposition '1 am to make."
\ “ Do you know that this man’s life is forfeited by the
I} ' laWS ?"

“ We ain’t got no laws out here but the law of the strong
'est hand. I'Ve played my nee; foller my lend.”
“ I must speak'with my friends ﬁrst. Nut l”
The wild man approached at the word and grasped his

\

Melvin. Do you understand me ‘1'”
; Nut lifted his‘spem' in a significant. manner and looked at
' 4 t Wilson in a way which made him tremble.

’ sort of guard? This devil may take it into his head to spear
‘ me like a frog. Set- some one else to watch me."

“ He'll do,” replied Elbert, coolly, calling the leading men
‘ of the‘hand about him. Wilson, in mortal terror, crouched
3  upon the spot where he had been standing, hardly daring to
look up. The others went aside and held at short conference.

there was not a man among them who had not been touched
by the beauty and grace of Elsie, or Would not have laid
down his life in her defense.
hert signed to Not to stand aside.
“ We agree to your pt'opOsition,” he said.
exchange to be effected?”
“ Why,” said Wilson, " seeing I am here, I don’t see that
,we can do any other way than to let me talré. Melvin with
me, when I go buck, and then we will send the gal over W
.. you, of course.” ,
“ Excuse me,” replied Eihert. “ While I have the strong

“ How is the

\ ’ )

very much toexpose 'you to temptation of this kind.

' 1 V up the lady."

 7 .‘ " Oh," said Wilson, with a grin. “ That’s the idea, eh ?”

spear. ,
, \ "‘ You see this fellow, Nat,” said Elbert. “ While we are
’ V talking yonder, see to it that he does not move away from _

tlietspot where he now stands, or say any thing to Curtis,

“Now see here,” he said, “kuin't you give me another

Much as they hated Melvin, this could have but one issue, for.

They soon came back and El- 1

That's the idea, clumsily expressed, no doubt, but having ,

 
B“

mJDPﬂB‘H?‘_”

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~  zest faith that you are a man of the strictest. honor, I (“Slike « '
We‘
must ,take another course, for fear you might forget to give

  
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a meaning in it. You will return to your people and bring.
the lady to the bottom of tho gulch. You are at liberty to
take one man with you to perform the duty. I will take
one of my men and bring the prisoner'to the same place, and
there we will make the exchange.”

“ That’s fair enough. Shall you come armed '2”

“ Just as youlike about that.
ter bring our weapons.”

“ Nothing more to be said, I suppose?"

“ Nothing that I can think of.
haste, as night is coming on, as you may see,"

The man gave them a rough salutation, and hastened
away. Nat looked after him with an evident desire toltry

, the temper of his spear upon him, but was restrained by his'

fear that an injury might be done to Elsie. Mad as he was,
he seemed to understand that, and restrained himself bravely.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Hank Wilson, accompanied by
a tall Indian, appeared at the opposite side of the canon.
The Indian held Elsie by the wrist, and her appearance was
greeted by a stunning cheer from the brigade.

“ Bring the prisoner, Dan,” said Elbert. “You, may as
well take your riﬂe, in case of treachery, although I don’t
think they will dare. to try that. Keep your eyes on them,
lads, and if you see any thing wrong you know what to do." ’

The men grasped their, riﬂes and ran to the edge of the

' cation, and Dan took charge of Melvin, from whose hands

the withes had not yet been removed. They helped «him
downthe rugged and precipitous path, and met the others
in the center of the cation.

“ Here we are,” said Wilson,gayly. “ Even exchange, they

. =ay, is no robbery ; and now, if you'll give Melvin up to us,

we‘ll give you the gal and go on our way rejoicing.” -
In a. moment Elsie was in her lover’s arms, and Melvin
was standing unbound among his friends. For a moment

he seemed to be inclined to try conclusions with his enemies I
upon the spot, but a look at the grinning row of riﬂes upon -
the rocks above warned him that the thought was madness.

“ We have met and We have parted,” he said, quietly; “ It

will not hemy fault if it is our hast meeting Miss ,Vcddex. ‘ .
~ I wish to say a word to you." i t t .» ,

  
‘ I.  3

Perhaps both of us had bet- ' I»

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' an 3011mm Hummus]

“l‘have no desire to speak to you. Curtis Melvin," she

I .5 , said; ' “ I can not saythat I am sorry you have escaped from
death, but beyond that I have no wish in connection with
you."

“ But. you must hear me. I out not loud or turbulent,
' Ind you can not deny me this privilege.”
“ We have no time to waste, Ulll‘lls Melvin,“ snid Elliott.

“ Say what you have to say quickly, and 1mm.- drum u in: it."

“ It is only this, and is not addressed to you. I love llml,
hard-hearted girl who is resting so conﬁdingly upon your
arm, and in other days she gave me reason to believe that
she at least did not hate me.”

“ Until you deceived me; until you showed yourself in
your true character, that of a desperate and wicked man.

v Even when with us, you were plotting to betray .us.”
‘ “ You drove me to it. If I committed a crime, it was in

a moment of passion and in my own defense. I see that I

can not justify myself, and you have only yourself to blame
", r for what follows. As for you, Elbert Spencer, the hate I
' bear you will ﬁnd its vengeance against you in a day not far
off."

‘ “ I do not fear you, Melvin,” replied the young man.

“ You have cause to .do so, my dear young man. Wait;
the time will come when you will beg on your knees for
death at my hands. Be sure of that.”

“Go, or I will forget the compact we have made, and
draw upon you."

,1 . “‘ Curt, Curt,” whispered Wilson, “ it won’t do, you know.
Thar’s forty riﬂes p‘inted at us this very minit, and they kerry
' true,”
' “ It would be like you to betray me even now, Spencer,”
‘Why don’t you do it ‘r”
‘ “I tell you to‘ go at once."
. “ I am going; but before the sun rises again you shall
‘ , hear‘from me, in a fashion you little dream of. v Lead the
way, Hank, for we are wasting time.” '

Both parties tu'rncd hastily and began to ascend opposite
sides of the ravine, Elbert assisting Elsie up the dialcult
nascent, and breathing more freely when they reached the top
safely, and are sunk down exhausted

  
4

nsin’s mvnnrmn

Give me a moment before you questionmo, Elbert,” she
Iaid. “ I am out of breath.” ‘ ,
One of the men brought her a. cup of water, and she drank
it eagerly and uppeared to be refreshed. '

“ Now, my dear Elsie, tell me what you know of this
strange ulfuir. And while she is doing it, Dan, you had bet~
ter post the men, taking especial care whom you put on the
outer guard, for we shall have trouble to-nighti”

Dun hurried away to perform the duty, and Elbert sat
down upon the rock beside Elsie. ,.

“ When I left the camp,” said she, “ I sat down upon the
other side of the tree yonder, out of sight and hearing, for I
did not wish to know any thing about what was going on. ’
I can not tell you how it was done, but while I sat there a
cloth was thrown over my head from behind, so quickly and
skillfully that I had not time to cry out. When the cloth
was thrown oﬁ‘, the white man you saw with me just now
was bending over me, threatening me with an upraised knife
if I made a movement. An Indian who was with him thrust
a gag into my mouth, and then they lifted me and carried
me rapidly into the lower canon. Once there, they‘ put a
handkerchief over my eyes and hurried me quickly over a‘
rough path for some distance, when I heard the sound of
voices, and when the bandage was removed I was in the
center of a circle of savage faces, most of them Indians, al-

", “ 
7 \

though many were white men and half-breeds, who were ev- ,

idently under the leadership of the man called Wilson. They
’did not allow me to observe much, but, after threatening mo
in a dreadful manner, they gave me a pencil and puper and
told me to write to you, and I did it. The man Wilson

- went away, and when he came buck I was blindfolded again,

and led back, I think, by another course. The bandage was

t removed from my eyes just as we reached the ravine.”

“ You know nothing of the number of these men ‘9’” '

“I saw at least thirty white men and half-breeds,and
perhaps sixty Indians; but I did not have time to count
them.”

“ How were the Indians armed ?” .

“ Most of them had riﬂes, I should think." _

“It certainly is the band of Negarath. Did you see u

1

o

 
.‘ ' \,
' THEY BORDER HUNTRESQ.

Indian wearingthree eagle-feathers 'Jm highland-dress, with u
1 red belt about his waist ‘9" ‘
‘ ‘ “I did not notice any such."
“Strange; he ought to be there,‘certainly. I am sorry
that. Melvin got: awn v, for he is sure to make us trouble, and
I do not like to l.:se any of my men. Ha l"

' With the exclamation he sprung suddenly from the bowl-
, def. dragging her with him. Not a. moment too soon, for .'
bullet sung through the air a second after, passing over the!
spot where they had sat. ‘
- ' I \ “ To arms i" cried Elbert. “ They are coming, or the red

lrrow tells fglse tales. Steady, and take good aim.”

1.

CHAPTER V.
 r r ' THE BATTLE BY NIGHT.

“ TEE camp of the truppers was a sort of natural fortress,
and not easy of access on any side, nor commanded by any
eminence higher than itself within riﬂe-range. On one side
lay the narrow canon, the precipitous walls of which were
not endy to climb, and, if climbed, it must be done in the face
of the riﬂcnicn of the brigade, who knew how to use their
riﬂes well. On the west, :1 thick growth of bushes and trees
" ‘ formed a convenient. shelter, from which an attack upon that
‘  side could he repelled, and that with safety to the defenders.
Upon the east and south was a long, level stretch, affording; no
¥ cover to the assailants, but broken enough to make it almost.
.r 'b impossible for horse to charge. Years of experience upon the .
‘ ’ I : .border had tnnght‘Elbert many lessons, and he had made use
of his knowledgeyin choosing the camp. '

‘ I' The attack was commenced by a ﬁre of sharp-shooters upon
'r" the other side of the ravine, which would huye made the camp '
’L "I _ itntennble but for the sort of natural parapet that ran along
'- ‘6 Verge of the cztiion, behind which the
“elf and returned the ﬁre.

\

brigade ensconced "- "

 ‘ L)?“ Ifoythgn, Duh," whispered the young captain, “ take care 'I

  
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,0! this ravine with ten men as I call oﬁ' their names. The

.ing her little riﬂe, and, to all appearance, as eager for the fray

' tell ye.”

“WW

 
A NIGHT ATTAcI.

  
main attack will come in another place." .‘ v
He called off the munth of ten men, who silently ranged
themselves along the verge of the ravine. They were all ﬁn-
ished marksmen, and he knew that he could trust them.
“Elsie?” he said, looking about for her. "‘ \Vhere are‘
you i” '
“ Here,” she said. in a low voice. ,
He turned quickly and saw her kneeling beside Dan, grasp-

as the boldest man among them.
“ You must not expose yourself, Elsie," cried her lover.
“ You might get hit.”
“ So might any one here, and in what am I better than the
brave men who are around me ? Do your duty, Elbert, and
leave me to do mine.” v '
“ I’ll take keer of her,” said Dan. “ Oh, glory, what a row
we will have!" , /‘
There was no time to waste in idle words, and quickly turn.
ing, Elbert called to his men, and stooping low, they glided
into the bushes which fringed the western side of the camp.
The moon was up, and objects were plainly distinguishable at
a distance of a hundred yards. They could hear the rapid V
crack of riﬂes on both sides of the ravine, and knew that Dan « ’
and his men were resolutely defending their position. On
this side, howwer, not a sound was heard, but, to practiced
‘Indian-ﬁghters, this was only a proof that they were in the
'l'ight place.
The scouts, who were further out than the line of bushes,
behind which Elbert and his men lay, had received their or-
ders, and not a shot was ﬁred. The duel of riﬂes was yet at 1.
its hight when the scouts, giving the signal to announce ill!" '
lpnroach, came creeping in rapidly, and throwing themsel‘vué
Vlnto the cover, turned at. bay.
“ They are here, Cup," said one. “ Git ready for work, 1
“ Indians?”
“ A miscellaneous b’ilin‘, cap. Comin’ on that hands an’
knees."
“ Hush i” whispered Elbert.

“'1 see them,  'Don’tg
268 2 ' x

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ﬁre until you can see their eyes shine, and then give it 1
You have your orders when to ﬁre,°and don’t'iet any ‘

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them.
man ﬁre out of his turn. When the riﬂes are empty, ou
'knives nnd revolvers and at them."

A silence like the grave now fell upon the scene, and the '

fire of the men at the ravine begun to slncken. All at out-1,:
it burst forth With renewed fury, as :1 light showed itself upon
the open space in front of the bushes, glimmeer for a mc~
ment and was gone. Then, as if by magic, :1 dark mass which

, until now had been lying on the plain, rose us one man, and

rushed on with fearful speed. The trappers made no Sign.
Had they suddenly been stricken blind and dumb? Theforce
of the enemy had almost reached the woods, when, as if a
spring had been touched or a match lighted, a terrible riﬂe-

rﬁre burst out directly in their faces, scattering min and death

through their ranks, and as they staggered before that with.

ering volley, a second force, which had reserved its ﬁre until V

now, rose suddenly and sent ful‘iil n more deadly discharge.
So close were they, that after the deadly sirit‘c was over, some

of the assuiling party were found with their faces actually ‘

scorched by the powder.
This sudden ﬁre, coming from a quarter where they lens!
expected it, was more than the assailants could hear, and they

had actually turned to ﬂy, when a terrible wor-cry rung, and I
a man wearing the three eagleJenthers of a r‘iici, with his .
arms bared to the shoulders, and stained red as it with gore, ‘

and carrying a heavy hatchet. in his hand, burst in upon them
and literally forced them back to the assault. (We man,who

. would have ﬂed, was cut down by the chief, and the rest,
seeming to fear him more than the enemy in front, With ferry '

cious yells, headed by this terrible warrior, darted fen-ward to

the attack. 4 .
By this time the riﬂes were reloaded, and, as be'nre, the

head of the assailiug party was swept away by a close Md ter'

rible ﬁre. In spiteaof that, they pushed on ﬁercely, but as, ,

they reached the line of wood, the second volley tore thr ugh
them with fearful eﬂ‘ect. The warrior looked about him and

saw how fearfully his ranks were decimated by the ﬁre but 3
there was no time to deity, and they pressed forward. '
Up rose the trapper: knives. and revolvers ready, an. to: *

    
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ﬁve minutes a fearful struggle for the possession of the woods‘ ‘

. continued. The leader of 'the assailants was everywhere,
striking terrible blows with knife and hatchet,_and encourag-
. ing his men by voice and action.

v sailauts were completely exposed.
greater, and stimulated by the example of their chief, whose
gallant bearing aroused even the admiration of his enemies,
they forced back the defenders until they actually obtained a
foothold in the edge of the woods. r

‘At the beginning of the fray, the combatants were unequal
in force, but the destructive ﬁre which the assailants had en-
dured, had made them nearly equal, and the losses of each
had been about the same since the hand-to-hand conﬂict had
commenced. Elbert was certain that at least one-half the force
‘ opposed to him, although all were painted in Indian fashion,
. were half-breeds‘and white men, from the determined way in
which'they fought, and he recognized the leader, by his cos-
tume, as the redoubtable chief Negars, who had sent the red
arrow to his camp that day. (

Both parties now paused for breath, and the trappers seized

tridges, and get; ready for a new struggle. They were aware
from the sounds in front that their enemies were being con-
. stantly reinforced by the coming of new men, but Elbert did
not feel strong enough to commence the struggle, but rather
to not upon the defensive.
( at a signal shout, the attacking party glided simultaneously

t, from behind the trees where they had found shelter, and the
' ’ desperate struggle began anew.

Elbert singled out the chief
‘ Nrgaru, and determined that one of them should go down
when the battle recommenced, and they met, each armed with
t a hatchet and knife.

Negztrn‘s appearance was terriﬁc.
*woundcd in several places, and the blood was streaming down
t his face and breast, and mingled with the red and white of

He greeted the approach of Spencer by a shrill cry of joy, and

 
_ rushed forward to meet him. ,
The melée was now at its hight. On all stdesthe opposing?

The defenders had the ad- »
_ ’ vantage of ﬁghting under cover of the bushes, while the as- ’
Yet, their numbers being ’

the moment to ﬁll the chambers of their revolvers with car- ‘

He had been slightly ‘

his paint, giving him it. grotesque and horrible appeat'ance.,

     
1 .

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He had not long to wait, for...

  
in 30mm HUNTREsS. 3

  
g borderem mingled in a deadly struggle, and as each had chosen
., his opponent, few were left at liberty to do more than attend
' to their own affairs. 1

I _ Elbert and Negara approached each other cautiously, each
r having faith in the other’s prowess, and neither being desir-
ous of giving the 1‘ ast 'advantngc. Elbert might have shot
his opponent down, but, with that native chivalry which
dwells in the breast of the men of the border, he would
I not talte the advantage, but used only the same arms as
- I . his enemy. Their weapons clashed together, and while
the hatchet of Negara was driven from his hand, the handle
of Elbert’s ax broke, leaving him as defenseless in that re-
Spect, and they stood face to face, armed only with bowies,
dreadful weapons in experienced hands.

The active young borderer cut his enemy across the fore- ,
arm deeply and sprung back, avoiding a blow which was
niméd at his breast. Twice they had circled about each
Other and closed again, and this time both blades drank blood,
although the wounds were slight.

In springing back, Elbert slipped in the blood of a fallen
-‘ \ Indian, and staggered, and at. the same time a savage, who
‘ was for the moment disengaged, struck him a stunning blow '
upon the head with a hatchet. The weapon turned in his
hand, and but for that he had not needed another blow. As
. it was, his eyes were dim, and objects swam before them in
I .’ , a mist, and it was with difﬁculty that he warded off the blows

' of Negara, who was pressing him close. -
The Indian who had Struck him was approaching again,
and he was stepping back hastily to get both enemies in‘
front, when he stumbled over a dead body and fell to the
larth. Knife and hatchet were lifted to finish the struggle,
and the fate of the young man seemed sealed, when the wild L
laugh of Nat sounded in his ears and his long spear was
driven completely through the hotly of the Indian with th
‘hatehet. So sudden 'as his death that he remained staud-.
_ 'ing in the attitude he had taiten when struck, as if still alive. .
v' ‘ ' Nut'plantcd his foot against his breast as he withdrew the
spear and he fell in a ghastly heap, two yards away.
~At the same moment the blow was struck, a little riﬁ
cracked, and Negara felt the ball raise the feathers from h'

 
' bert.

’ Mid.

VICTOBZ

headdress. Lifting his eyes he saw Elsie standing at little way
off, with the riﬂe smoking in her hand, while Long-armed
Dun and his ten men were. coming on to join in the tray, with
triumphant cries. I '

Ile cast a hasty glunce'about him to see how the fortune
of war stood. llalt' his men were down and the_rest were
struggling faintly against the rushes of the trapper-s who re-
luained upon their feet. Ile felt that all was lost, and spring- y
ing back he shouted to his men to follow, and tho.~e who
could disengage themselves from their antagonists did so.
Wild Nut had not taken his eyes from the form of Negara,
and joined in the pursuit, striking down an enemy at every
stride. Elbert had strength enough to wind his bugle and so
recall the men from the pursuit, but they obeyed sulleuly,
and came back one by one, many of them eoneealing in their
hunting-shirts the fearful trophies of the result of that terri-
ble fray.

“ Are you badly hurt, dear Elbert?” said the brave girl,
bending over him. “ Oh, tell me that you are not."

“ I am all right, thanks to you, dear girl,” said Elbert, rising.
“But for your aid, and that of Wild Nat, I should have hired
badly. Are the men coming back? See to the wounded
ﬁrst, Dan ; I fear they are only too many."

“ The doctor is at work already,” said Dan, “ but some
of the boys are rubbed out-—pnst all doetorin’, you bet. L
Better have them see to your wounds ﬁrst.” "

“My wounds will take care of themselves,“ replied El-
“ There are others who need the doctor more than I.
Get to work, Dun, and in the mean time keep a sharp look- .
out for the enemy. They may come back."

“ Not they,” replied Dan. “ if they ain’t got their ﬁll of
ﬁghting for one night, then thar at" no snakes in Virgiuny.
You orter seen the gall blaze away at Negura. By the
mighty, she cut the feathers -out of his head-dress, and he
saved his scalp by a half-inch.”

“ What could I do, Elbert t” she said, softly. “ His knife

3 was raised above you, he was about to strike, and it was to V
, have your life.” ‘

- “ I shall ﬁnd a time to thank you better, dear _one,’3{ho,3 ;.
“ Now I must see after my poor men.” ' ‘ r

   
\

"l‘ivemy dead men lay between the ravine and the woods,

‘ able to ﬁnd and mutilate their renmms.

"l‘ﬂmall‘led with his head buried in his hands, starting up

g. camp and aroused his men one by one by a touch.
understood him, for they had received their orders before

5.,
» THE mm HUNTRESB.

3h» was «Ll: an eﬁ‘ort,.and walked away with her by his
side .0 look at the battle-ﬁeld. it was a terrible one.

all from the assnning force. As many more had fallen in
the hand-to-hand struggle in the Woods, and, to his great sor-
row, nine of them ware his own men, and among them. shot
through the heart, was the Pawnee Warrior, Maitonuh, who
had joined them in spite of his wound.

Having set a. guard over the different points which might
be assailed, the young captain divided the rest into two par-
ties, one of which dug a snuliow trench in which they laid
the dead of the enemy, side by side, and covered them with
a layer of earth, piling stone above them to keep oil‘ the
wolves until such time as their friends, if they so desired,
could give them a better burial. '1‘ht ir own dead they buried
in another phtce that their savage enemies might not be
Neither party had
any wounded who were not able to walk. In these terrible
border trays to fall was death.

The terrible duty was performed, the dead laid in their
last resting-place, and the survivors lay down to rest, little
knowing whether they should see the coming of the morn-
ing. These strange men were Cureless in the face of terri-
ble~ dangers. They could lie down to rest bathed in their
.own blood, even knowing that deadly enemies were making.
plans for their destruction, and perhaps gathering new forces
to attack them, weak and worn as they wr-re. Only Wild
Nat could not rest. He had come buck sullenly, from the
pursuit, when recalled by the bugle of Elbert, and hail since

now and, then to peer out into the gloom, muttering to him:
self :
“Red and white—red and white.

4

It was after three o’ulock when Elbert went through the
They

 
lyingdown to rest. A single low blast of the bugle called
intthe guards. and they silently set to work getting up the

. I Negara and Curt Mel- ’
. Vin—Curt Melvin and Negura. Ha! ha! ha! What t'ools
, these wise men are.” '

  
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is horses and ssddling them. Last of all Elbert? aroused the
e. sleeping girl. V
s, “ Un, up, Elsie,” he said; “ it is time for us to go.” ‘

in “ \Vhere; whnt do you mean ‘3" . l 1
r- “Keep silent, for your life," he said, in a. whisper. “There
ot is no time to answer questions now, if we would escape from
l0 Dill' enemies."

,~ Site allowed him to lift her to the saddle and followed him
ht in silence as he led his horse down the slope to the east.
r- thn was in front lending his horse and showing the wuy,nnd
the rest of the men brought up the rear, each with his hand
th upon his riﬂe, for they did not know how soon they might ,
.16 fall upon the enemy. At this moment Wild Nat started up) i
(l, and threw himself in the way.

ad “ Look 1" he said. “ Nat knows that the pass is red with
he Blackfeet. Will you go there and be killed ‘2"

id “We must get out of this, somehow, N at," replied Elbert.
Ile “ Then, let Nat show the way. He can ﬁnd a path which
the Indians never saw; and he will show it, for the angel’s
:ir lake.”

.le Elbert knew him too well to doubt that he spoke the truth. ’
n- The direction was at once changed. Dun fell back, and Wild
ri- Nat took the lead.

:1r

:2.

13
es "—_'_ I
ld t
he A ,
CG CHAPTER VI. _ t ' "g;
 A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. ‘ ‘

A THE forces of Negnra, with thinned ranks, made theilI .‘
el- escape by devious ways, followed by the shots and shouts of x '

iiS their enemies. It had been a desperate ﬁght, and they felt the,
humiliation of defeat very keenly indeed, and none more than
he Negara. One by one the men came in, many desperately
ey wounded, and the chief looked over his thinned forces with a‘
thrill of rage. He was not used to defeat, and he felt it the
micro on that account. He had lost about half his followers, w 
In?! the dreadful chant of the Indian warriors over their slain.  

 
ﬂ" 3 ‘m Bonmm nomnnss.

 was ringing through the valley in which they had found I
 shelter, nearly driving him mad.
A tall warrior, painted in motley Colors, with the blood yet
ﬂowingr from a deep cut in his shoulder, approached the chief,
I as he stood sulleuly at the foot of a tree.
~ ‘ V “ Why does not Negara mourn with his brothers over the
‘- brave warriors who have .allen in this battle ‘3” he said.

“ Why should Negara weep ‘2" was the reply. “ 'l‘bey died
in the smoke of the battle with their weapons in their hands,
and their faces to the foe. \Ve can not. weep for such men;

V We can only avenge th‘n."

“ Negara speaks well,” replied the warrior. “ They have
gone to the happy huntinggrounds of our people, and chase
the red deer by the beautiful rivet. As I sung the death- '
song over the slain, I heard their voices say, ‘ Strike for me;
let not these white dogs rejoice in the death of brave men.’ ”

l, “ The voice spoke well,” said Negara. “ Let my brothers
be at rest, for all shall be well with them. Negara will take
no rest until every man in yonder band has given his scalp to
hang in a Blackfoot lodge.”

, “And shall the Wild Man of the Gulch die, too?"

 ‘ “That shall be as my brothers say; but he deserves to

I die," replied Negara.

I The Conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a new

j_’ ‘ force of Blackfeet, who had intended to join them before, but

' had been detained in some way. It was well for Elbert Spent-

" ~. I cer and his party that they had not come in time to join in

 . the battle, for they numbered one hundred wellramiointed '

' i " 4 warriors, eager for battle. They were met. with black looks

:27 by their friends, who had suffered by their delay.

“ It is sad to tell,” said the chief who led them, “ and it is

« Well for Negara to mourn. The Blackfeet baVe. not wings to

ﬂy through the air, and they came as soon as they could. Let ‘
us not'speak of those who are dead, but take revenge on‘tlle
.‘liViug?’ ' -
“ Let it be ‘as you say," replied Negara, clutching his knife
ﬁercely. {‘Ah, but for the woman who is with them, this
*knife would be red with the blood of the captain, Spencer.
;_ - ‘ Bomember, Barena, that I claim her for my own.” ,
I 4 '  ‘“ It is good," said the Blackfoot. ‘ “.Negara has some of

 
vamman  - ’ I ‘ 147

 
‘ r the blood of the white men in’ his veins, and it is well that'h’e
should choose a wife of that race. The white maiden shall he w
m yours." ' ,
Df’ “ And one thing more. The madman must die.”
“It is good,” replied the other. “My brother has spoken
he well, for the Blackfeet will not snli'er one to live in all that
band. The madman shall die, and Negara shall choose a way
Pd for him to die." . " i
is" “ Enough, chief; Negara Would not ask any thing which
n; was not for the good of the tribe. It is well that all these
' men should die, for the brood of the serpent will raise more
V6 ‘ young to trample upon Blackfeet graves. If you are ready,
58 we will march at once.” A r
i" “ But my broth-r is hurt; he has lost blood.” ’

"i “ What care I? You will not ﬁnd my arm weak in strik- 1
ing the foe in the battle that is to come."

m V Their plans were well laid, and their ﬁrst work was to se-
w cure every pass, leading from the canon. Their forces were
to now so large that they could afford to be reckless, and they
charged from all-sides upon the sleeping camp. “But they
charged shadows; of all the band of Spencer, not a man re<
to maimed. * ‘
Raving in fury, Negara ran round and round the camp,
W vainly seeking for some trace of the enemy. The guards in
“t. the diﬂ‘erent passes had not been disturbed, so that they had , _
3“ not passed out that way ; but gone they were, horses and all. f 
m ‘ 80 complete a disappearance was more than the Indians could
“1 , understand, and they looked at one another in confusion and
‘5 dismay. ,
_ “ The hand of the bad Manitou is at work inthis,” said the >
15 ~ chief, who had brought reinforcements to Negara. “ What ’
'0 has he done while you slept? Have the while men taken the
M wings of the eagle to ﬂy over the mountain, or have they dug
"3 into the earth, like the prairie-(log 2’”
“ We must wait," replied Negara. “ When morning comes,
{9 we will take their trail, and never leave until they'are tl‘eutL A

'5 Shall it not be so?" . . 
‘5 “ My brother has said it,” replied the chief; ' “ The Black- 7.”er- ’i
feet never forget.” ' ‘ ' 'z I ‘ . 

I i- They lay down to rest under the trees, am’ waited for ma ' W '
. /

 
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‘ .

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. morning, which was not far away. In that dim hour, just
before the day, when the senses seem most completely locked‘

in slumber, they were aroused by a. terrible cry of agony, as
M a man mortally hurt, and started up. The camp was in
confusion, those who were awake said that they had seen a
vision of a gigantic, hairy monster, which bounded down the
mountain—side, struck a swift blow or two, and was gone.
That. he had not come in vain was well attested, for two of
the band lay (lead, pierced to the heart by some sharp instru-
/ment.

‘ “ It is the Spirit. of the Rocks who ﬁghts for the white men,”
was the terriﬁed murmur which ran through the camp.

“ No !” said Negara. “ It is the man the whites call Wild
Nat, who hates us, and would kill us all if he could.”
“Yes, yes, yes," yelled a voice from the darkness.

Nat is here; why do you not come and take him ‘1’”
Half a dozen strong braves, at the command of Negars,
bounded forth in pursuit, determined to slay Wild Nat or die.
He met them at a narrow pass between the rocks, where only
tWo could pass abreast, and through this retreated slowly,
drawing the six Indians further and further from the camp.
As morning dawned, they were still in pursuit, but separated
somewhat. He turned, at last, and killed the foremost by a
stroke of his spear.
but be brained one by a thrust of the butt of his spear, and
catching the other [by the waist and shoulder, hurled him
shrieking into a dark chasm a hundred feet in depth, and
then rushed furiously upon the others. They were swift of
foot, but their ﬂeetness did not avail them against the tireles-
feet of Nut. Of the six braves who started out in pursuit
the madman, not one came back, and the ﬁrst notice the I
dians bad or their fate was seeing,r the wild man upon a root

“ Wild

1 high above them, waving ﬁve bloody scalps in the air.

* “Five!” he cried, “ﬁve! The vultures have the other.
~Ha! ha! hal’? ‘ '

Negara snatched a riﬂe and aimed at him, but Wild Nat
knew him too well to give him a chance for a shot, although
his wild laugh could still be heard. He was standing on the
crest of a. precipice a hundred and ﬁfty feet above them, at a

ﬁlm“ W here a, chamois could not have reached him, from bo-

   
Two others rushed upon him together, -

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low. While the Indutns gazed iln mute consternation, agree!
stone, loosened by the etforts of the madman, came bounding
in erratic leaps down the side of the cliff, and taking a long
leap from a granite howlder, swept two of their number into
eternity, amid the terrible laughter of the maniac.

" lla! ha! ha!” shrieked Nat, wildly. “Ive done it, i‘vo
done it! Who made me mad, who made blood ﬂow, who
made me a wild man of the hills? H00! yahl Look out '
for another !“

Even as he spoke another stone came crashing down, even
greater in size than the ﬁrst, and Negara could see that the
madman could make the place absolutely untenable unlesa
they could dislodge him, and they had no time to do that.
1nd at the order of chief hurried away from the fatal spot.

“ I'll folldw—I’ll watch," was the parting salutation.
“ Nat has the eyes of a panther and the heart of agrizzly,
Negara and Curt Melvin—Curt Melvin and Negara! Hal
ha! ha i” . .

The Indians were perfectly frantic with rage, but what .
could they do? It was plain that the wild man knew more
of the mountains than they did, and to pursue him would
only be to expose more braves to death. The last they saw
of Nat as they marched away he was laboring to detach an~
other great stone and send it down upon them. He'qu too
late, for the stone swept by a hundred feet behind the party.

“ Who shall say that because the ﬁnger of the Great Spirit
is laid upon this man we must not kill him," said Negara.‘
“But he inust die no common death. Either one or the
other of us has but a little time to live. Let the braves scat-
ter and search for the trail of the white men, and when it is
found, let the chiefs know."

Wild Nat still lingered upon the rocks abdve, and while
the Indians searched the pass for the trail, he was on the
alert. hurling stones at any who had the temerity to ap-
proach the clitl‘, which very few of them dared do. They
found the trail at last, but it led them under the cliff, where
the madman had collected a great supply of ordnance, and
stood ready to launch them on the heads of the enemy, it
they should attempt to pass. Negnru began to see that ha“;

I

 
‘ had an object in defending the hight so desperately, ahd'.

 
/

m mm Emma.

knew that he must be driven away in order to allow the band
to pass.

At his order twelve marksmen were selected, who took
their stations within easy shot of the cliff, with orders to ﬁre
at the madman if he as much as showed a ﬁnger. This don'
Negztra himself took the trail and hurried on, two or three
of his bravest then following him. Nat was cunning enough

,to see that he could not lift his head above the rocks, hutI

lying‘prostrnte on the earth, he pushed the stones he had

I i .gathered oyer with his feet in quick succession, and it wa-

f only‘hy the exercise of extraordinary address that the Clilt

»-g~ escaped from the fearful shower alive.

»’ Once past the point of rocks, the cliff was more broken
and easier of ascent, and the three Indians sprung up the

*rock's, followed by others. But, when they reached the top

.t, of the ledge, the man they sought was no longer there. With
" that wonderful address and speed which made him so dan-

. ' gerous an opponent, he had disappeared, and the hard rocks
3 (did not show a footinark to guide them in the pursuit.

’ Negara dropped the riﬂe which he held ready to shoot
down their mad enemy, and looked at the others in wild sur‘
prise. ‘

 “The books of the white men speak of those in Whose

’ M bodiesdevils dwelt, and made them terrible and strong. I
never believed the tradition before; I believe it now," he

said.

V . .A wiid laugh in the distance was the only response, and
3", - ’they knew that their subtle enemy was yet within hearing.

“This devil does not know what fear is,” said Negara.
“ Let us go, and where we find the enemy, he will be there.”
I They descended, and again struck the trail, which was

V plainly deﬁned, for the brigade, in the haste of last night,
had not been able to cover it. The Blackfeet followed it' like

‘ hounds eager for blood, but their ride came to an abrupt ter-
mination, for the trail ended suddenly at a rocky precipice,

impassable even for horses.

 In a rage the Indians rode up and down, vainly seeking
_-’ . {or an outlet from the pass, and, in the midst of their
4 ‘ porplexily, they heard again the'mock’ng laughter of Wild

an. , ‘ ' .

 
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L; 0300mm:

5 the Blackfeet. They are blind as bats. Hal ha! hail"

Again the rocks began to rattle down about their ears, for
Nat took every opportunity to do them harm. He was not
‘in sight, but his voice sounded upon the crest of the preci-
pice in front. They rode back out of the dangerous vicinityt
many of them badly bruised, and ma raging mood again.-
' the madman, who thus met them at every turn.

row in the earth," said Negara.
at some place like foxes.” -

“ I see no signs of turning back,” said the man WilsonY
who was with the party, and had just received a terrible
bruise from a stone hurled by Nat. “But, this I will say,
that, if you will give me leave, I’ll go back and try to ﬁnd
the way out of this.” I I

“Go if you will, but beware of Wild Nat, for he is on the
watch.” ’ _ -

Hank Wilson, who was a bold and desperate man, rode
- back to the spot where the trail seemed to have ended 50
ubruptly. He had a pistol in his hand cocked and ready,
and never removed his eyes from the summit of the elit'tf~

“ Let me see the cuss show his head, that’s i all," he mut-
tered, “ I’ll fix him.” ,

But Nut did not see proper to show himself. On the con-
trary, nothing more was heard, and after waiting for a mo-
ment to satisfy himself that all was safe, Hank dismounted,
and looked at the trail closely.
had fallen into single ﬁle, and had ridden so close to the buso

 
t

   
i ,

of the clitf that the red-skins had overlooked it in theirhaste,
under the granite shower which Nat had sent down upon
them. Pleased with this discovery, Hank rode along upon
the trail until he found a place where there was a cleft. in
the wall of the pass, partly screened by low bushes. The
trail led up to this and stopped.

“ Good," muttered Hank. “ I’ve got ’em dead to rights.
I s‘pose I ought to go in yer and make
fore I call the rest." _

He half turned his horse‘s head as if‘to ride into the

_ . “Find it, ﬁnd-it! Nat knows the way, but he won'nen I t

“ We have passed the spot where thesewhite wolws bu. _
“They have doubled back7 *- '

\ i
I

He now saw that the party,

n. sure thing of it be?

bushes, and as he did so he caught a glimmer of steel;-

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and had just time to ﬂing himself half out of the saddle,

when the spear of Wild Nut w‘iizzed through the air where \

, his body had been a moment before. The trained buffalo
,\ horse bounded away, with Wilson hanging by-one foot and

A‘, hand, and carried him safely out of reach of Kat’s weapons.

r He started up and seemed about to follow in pursuit, but
stopped.
“ No, uo,,there is not time. The angel in danger, and no
' one can save her but Wild Nat, the Gulch Terror. They fear
me, ha! ha! ha. l—they fear me, do they not?”
He could see. Hank Wilson darting down the pass gesticu-

' lating wildly and shouting to his companions to come on.

Nat saw that there was not a moment to lose, and, as the
warriors began to move, he recovered his spear and climbed
the rocks beside him, and when the Blackfeet reached the
spot‘he was gone.

” ing, parting the bushes, they saw a narrow path, through
which they could see the open country far beyond.

CHAPTER VII.
NEGARA’S vow.

I THE brigade, led by the mad guide, had safely passed out

/ of the toils their enemies had set for them. and were now

'cam'ped in a circular valley, hardly three miles from the camp
they had so lately occupied. On all sides arose the mighty
irnngcs, green at the base, sterile further up, their tops shroud-
Elsie' Vedder had passed much of her life
amid such scenes and she gloried in them, as evidences of
The young girl
was the idol of the camp, especially since her heroic conduct
inthe attack of the night before. They knew that they were

" ‘y ‘not‘yettout of danger, but with that contempt of past perils

"Which makes the men of the West so grand. the tmppers gave
themselves up to physical enjoyments. A deer and two un-
hlopes hed’been brought in by the hunters, killed by means

But, in the place where he had been ly-‘

 
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‘ .

15f arrows—for Elbert had strictly forbidden the use of ﬁre-

~ arms for the present—while they were in the vicinity of such

enemies as Negnra and Curtis Melvin. Nat was out upon a
scent, nnd had not yet returned.

The adoration of the lunatic for “the angel," as he still
persisted in calling Elsie, was something wonderful. To lie
at her feet and watch her as the. failhful dog watches his
master, was his greatest delight.
whenever she addressed him, and he listened to her songs in
rapt surprise which was utihcting to see. The rough bor-
derers were touched by his manner, and many a whisper puss-
ed from mun to man us they watched him.

“ Nut ain't got a bad heart, by no manner of means.” said
Long-nrmed Dill], “or he wohldn‘t have the good sense to
love our Elsie tmd hate such black thieves as Curt Melvin.
I say, Cup, don‘t you think we’d do better to get out of
this 1’”

“I tun not going to be driven out of the foot-hills by Curt
Melvin and that half‘nnd-half thief, Negara,” replied the
young man. “ If it wasn’t for Elsie, I‘d never have left our
last camp.” , .

“ It does seem mighty hard to have to run from such as
him,” said Dim, “but it was good policy. We planted some
mighty good boys in the caﬁon yender."

“I know it, Dan, I know it.
died fighting, but it hurts me to think that if I had not been
so squeamish about letting Elsie see the trial of Curt Melvin,
we never should have had to let him go.”

“ ’Twus foolish in us," replied Dan,’ “ but, at the time, I
thought you was in the right and so did every one in .the
comp. How they got round us and snatched up our Elsie I
dunno; I‘ll git even with that Hunk Wilson for it, one of,
these days." '

“ He is at least a bold villain, and deserves well at the
hands of the Hudson Bay," said Elbert. “ Don’t you think
it time for Net to come in ?" I z '
“He is watching the inimy," said Dan, “and he won't
come while he can do any good. They‘d better be keerful
how they ersss his path. Hark !" ‘ "

 
Ill

His rough face lighted up,

They were brave men and .

A low moaning cry was heard, such as Nat was known to .V ‘-'

  
THE, BORDER_ HUNTRESS.

utter when approaching a‘camp, and soon after he was among
’ them, his eyes shining ﬁercely behind his heavy brows.
“ ‘What is 'it, Nat ?” said Dan. “Have you seen tin-in,
then i’”
In answer, the madman opened the hairy covering on l.i~:
roast and showed Dan what lay beneath.
“ He’s been raisin’ ha‘r,” said Dan, coolly. “ New tin-r,
‘ old feller, speak up. He‘v they found the trail i”
Nat nodded his head slowly.
‘ “ Comin’ ‘8”
The wild creature nodded again.
“Nat has seen them, and some of them will never go on
the War-trail again. Hal hal ha! They know what it is
‘ to hunt Wild Nat in his own hills.”-
“ I reckon," said Dan. “ Must we put out now ‘9”
{J Nat shook his head, and seating himself before the ﬁre
‘ _ matched up a half-cooked rib of the deer, which was lying
on the coals, and brushing off the ashes began to eat raven-
ously, like one who had fasted for a long time. Indeed, he
had eaten nothing since the day before.
' / “ Nat must eat—he must have strength,” he said, as he tore
»/ off the rich, juicy meat with his strong teeth. “ By-and-by
he will go out again and meet the enemy. Curt Melvin and
Neg-era. Hal ha! ha! If they knew what Nat knows !"
“I'd rather board him for a week than a month,” grum-
bled Dan, who had been cooking the ribs for himself.
"‘ Never mind ; I hope he inj’ys the meat, and it does me good
to see him eat. Break olf two or three of them ribs for me,
Tom ; Nat has cleaned me out." .
" ' One of the men hacked off three of the ribs with a bowie,
and gave them to Dan, who proceeded to cook ‘for himself,
,4 ‘r.,while Nat stretched himself out upon the sod.
‘, . ~ _ “ ’Tnin’t no use to say a word to him now," said Dan, as
"; Elbert was about to speak to the madman. “ He won’t say
.3, I , any thing to you." ,
' Elbert turned [to Elsie and whispered something to her,
, , I and she turnedaside into the little sllt'lll‘l‘-l(‘ilt, which was
 , ‘ carried wherever she went for her use, and came out a mo-
- ment after, carrying a guitar in her hand. a e sat down
near the madman and touched the instrument with a gentle

 
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hand, waking a sweet harmony, and then began to sing: At
the ﬁrst note Nat started up eagerly, and leaning on his 61- '
bow looked at her. , ,r '

“ Hush 1” he said, waving his hand to the others. “No
noise, for Nat must hear the song of the angel.”

The song she sung was all old and touching ballad, of a
man driven wild by his sorrows, and one which went to the
heart of the wild man. It was the song known as the “ Dis-
mul Swamp.” The crazed man heat the'eir with his hands

dared make a move, for they feared what might be done by
Nat if they disturbed him. She begun the lust verses timid a
strange silence, never moving her eyes from the face of Nat. ,'
“Till he made him a boat of bircheu bark,
'l‘hut carried him 011‘ from the shore :
Long he followed that meteor spark,
The wind was high and the night was dark.
:1an the boat returned no more .' ,'
And oft by the Ind‘mn hunter‘s camp,
These lovers so brave and true.
Arc seen at the hour of midnight damp, . ,
To cross the hike by their ﬁre-ﬂy lamp, \ ‘ ' '
And puddle their light canoe.

“ Yes, yes, yes,” cried Nut. “ I loved her dearly and she
loved me, but she died. No, no, she was killed! Who killed
her ‘8” he shrieked. ’

He started to his feet and his eyes rolled wildly about him, .
but at the touch of Elsie’s ﬁngers upon the strings of the
guitar he became cnlm again, and sunk down upon the earth
at her feet.

“ This poor man has been crazed by some great sorrow,"
said Dr. Sabin. “ In my opinion, the loss of one he loved
tenderly." - V V

“ Yes, that is it. Loved hei- beyond any thing else on
earth, but she died—she died, and my brain gave way, and", .
now I am only Wild Nut, the Gulch ’I‘erron—Wild Net, the
Mountain Devil, before whom the Imlhms tremble. Ha! ha!
ha! Give me my spear and let me go out against them and V H
kill them like dogs. All, all, all shall die!" - r1

Again the ﬁngers of Elsie pressed the strings, and hi1 ‘ 
'mnd released its hold upon the hnft of,‘ the spear. ’

 
him BORDER nunrnnss.

J‘lsk him about the’Indians, Elsie," said Spencer. “He‘

 will tell you.” ' “
‘3’ “ Yes, Nat will ‘answer when she speaks. What must I
tell ?” ‘ -'

I .“ Where are‘the Indians who attacked min the caﬁon ?”

, “ They are coming,” replied Nat. “ They have found the
pass.”

“ Have any more joined them
‘ “Yes, many more. They are too strong for you now, and
you urnst ﬂy again. Nat. will tell you where to go.”

“ Then, if you would have me escape from Curtis Melvin,
Show us the way at once.”

Nat was on his feet in an instant, and beckoned them to
3‘ follow.
7," ‘ “Quick, quick," he said. “ Negara is swift of foot, and
he is not far away. I seem to hear him now."

rThe ﬁres were scattered ; the brigade mounted and marched

y"

\‘I l
 ' ; camp and rushed in, only to ﬁnd, as before, that the nest was
u 3' ' empty and the birds ﬂown.

V “ It is the work of that thrice-acoursed madman,” said
v' / Hank Wilson. “ He must not live or he will baﬁle all our
V plans? ~
 “ He is doomed,” replied Negara; “ but something whis

Pets in my ear that when he goes I must go with him."

“ Bﬂhl shake off these coward fears, and be the one to
” strike him dead."

“ A Prophet of the Blackfeet told me that my fate was to
fall by the hand of one upon whom the ﬁnger of the Great
spirit had been laid,” said Negara, in an awe-struck tone.

»,“ Since that hour I have feared men who were made, and
“methng in my heart tells me that it was of the Gulch Ter-
ror the Prophet spoke.” »

. “ You are not the man to be made a fool of by a random

j," ' , prophecy of an \Indiun medicine-man,” said Wilson. “ If you
‘r t are, by heaven I will follow you no longer.”

,ﬂOnn you any that my arm is weak in battle, or that I

I  1103 Black in the hour of danger “r” demanded Negara, ﬁercely.

I “ No; you are (brave enough."

v V "‘ Then, talk not to me until I turn back like a coward."

  
*away. Not half an hour after the Indians surrounded the ‘

an

 
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7 said the chief.

‘ lous colors.

 
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“ If I must die, I_ must die; and it is not in
the power of man to change the decrees of fate. Why are
We wasting time here? Let us follow and crush out these
White dogs who have killed our comrades."

“That is the kind of talk that suits me, .Negara,” said
Wilson, “ and while you talk it I am your man.”

“ The chief, Barena, wishes to speak with Negara," said
an Indian, coming up. ‘

“Let him come to me, then," replied the half-breed.
um Waiting for him.” ’

The chief cameforward, accompanied by a stunted old man
111 the fantastical dress of a medicine-man, wearing various
nmulets and charms about his person, and painted in ridi'cu-
At the sight of him Negm‘a turned pale, his
terror showing itself beneath his paint.

“ You, you, Prophet? Why have, you come to Negnra ?”

“The Spotted Cat is the great Medicine of the Black-
feet," replied the strange creature, in the Indian ttinghe.
“He has been down among the caves/of the dead, seeking
for charms to make the tribe mighty in war, and to teach
them how to sweep the White Destroyer from the face of
the earth. While he slept in the caves under the mountain,‘

“I

. a dream came to him, and he has come to speak it in the

Cars of Negara, chief of the Blackfeet."
~ “ Why has the Spotté’d Cat come to the Y” demanded the, «
chief. r

“Because he would save the best men of the tribe from
death. A spirit came to me in my dream and whispered in
my ears, ‘Fly to Negaru, the War-Chief, andto Barena, the
Night Cloud, and warn then: to turn back and ﬁght no more,
until the moon is full.‘ "

“It is a lying message, Spotted Cat,” said Ncg'ara, “ and’
must not be obeyet ." ' , ‘

“It must be obeyed, or the pride of the Blackfeet mns' ‘
lie in the dust." . ‘

“ It is a message from the spirits who watch over the
White men,” replied Negara, who saw that many even of his
“WI! band were troubled by the message. “ Some had ,spirit
Would save them from the hatchets of the Blackfeet.” ‘

“ It is a good message,” screamed the Spotted Cut, " and

 
” ’ um nonnrm newness.

,“99 spirit Was g09d. The white men have no spirits in the!

caves oi the dead, where the Spotted Cat dreamed the drum.
[Men of the tribe, I \hnve seen Visions and wonders, and all '
spoke of death to Negnrn and his men, and to Barrens, if he
does not listen to the words of the Spotted Cat and turn away
from the path his feet are trending."

 I z “ It is a lying voice,” replied Negnra, waving the Prophet

' “W335 “Spotted Cat has lied to Negam before.” -~

“ When ?”shrieked the medicine-mun. “ Say when, Sioux,
traitor?"
’ “ When you spoke of the death before rne. Go; I have
heard your Words, and they are those of a. coward who would

\let the bones of the dead cry out in vain for vengennce from
bloody graves. Before the moon is full, the white men will-
be safe where we can do them no harm."

“ The Voice of the Prophet has been good in the ears of

 _. . the tribe, Negam," said Barenn, who had not before spoken.
' , .“ Let us believe him now.”

“ Are you a coward too, Night Cloud 1*” said Negara,
sneeringly. “

. ' "‘ Barena. has carried too many scalps to the villnge where

X  he dWells to bear the name of a coward," replied the war-

» rior. “ Negara speaks falsely.” -

j , . “ If you turn back now, then you are a coward ; if you go
‘ t 9P} ’you are a brave warrior, and *N egm'n will unszty his,
‘5 words."

' I ‘V‘IWOI‘dA7 can not make a chief a dog,” answered the Black-

!00" quml'i- “I have listened to the words of a Prophet,

and thev have a sweet sound in my ears. Burenu will 5‘0

119 further until the moon is full.”

REFS was depicted upon the countenance of Negura as he

- 'saw the enemies he sought so suddenly redeemed by th(,

cow'de Conduct of the chief. Ills hands opened and closed
upon hishatchet, and it seemed for rt moment that he would
immolate the Prophet upon the altar of his vengeance.
“ Ha I” he cried ; ” are all the Blackfeet the sons of dogs,
~ 60 turn buck with the enemy in sight? -You who are friends
, to Negﬂmiand Who Will avenge the slain of yesterday, come
' _ away from cowards and stand beside me"

.‘tbout:.halt his own band heard the summons and came

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mom’s vom/ r ’ '. ’3“: 

"16-: to his side, and nearly all were half-breeds, not so open‘to

,m. superstition as the pure Indian. . l

“n ' “No more i” he said. “ Then let these kneel with m

116 and swear to the Great Spirit that we will not give up the

“Y pursuit of these white dogs until their scalps are ours or we
‘ are dead." ' 5

9t At this moment a deep thunder peal sounded from the

« cloud upon the mountain‘s brow. Before the Prophet could

X. speak, Neg-am forestalled him.

" The Great Spirit hears us, my brothers. Let us full up-

Ve on our knees before him and make the vow."

ld They kueeled with uplifted hatchets, and twenty more ",

in came froth Barena’s force and bowed with them. A ray of

lll- light piercing the cloud above them fell upon their upturned

faces as the Vow was made.

)f ,
u. , '
3,
 r CHAPTER VIII.

cunns MELvm’s TRIUMPH.
o

THREE days passed, and the brigade had heard nothing]

5' from their enemies. They had disappeared as suddenly as

1 they had come, and the most skillful scouts in the brigade

‘ could make nothing of it. Whatever had turned them aside

from the tracks of the party, it became patent to all that

1‘ they were gone, though where it was they could not tell. \
Nat had introduced them into another almost impenetra-

ble fastness, .which only he knew, and here they would have

felt comparatively safe, even if the enemy had remained in

that vicinity. Once satisﬁed that Negara had drawn oﬁ’ his

forces for the present, they set about the duty for which they

i had come out, and were successful beyond their highest

hopes. Nat knew the haunts of the beaver and'ottetx and

introduced them to streams of which the best scouts knCW' '

nothing, but which he, who had spent years in roaming '

.’ “trough the mountain region, had become familiar with. ‘ p

“I “ Nat knows them all,” he would say. “He knows where 7'

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the‘beaver liv’es, and will tell Elbert, because the angel love! “
him, but he would not tell any one else. The beavers are‘be
wiser than men, and Nat knows them, and has sat on the ‘ I
bank and talked to them while they built their houses. They cec
build well, the cunning beavers." to
They ﬁnally made a camp in one of the canons, and from wa

 I this, exploring parties went out in various directions, guided alt
by Nat and Dan, and in a week’s time they had found beaver- ah
dams enough to keep them all in employment the coming mt
\ season. As the days went on, and nothing more was heard
» s from Negam or Curtis Melvin, they became lulled into a 'un
sense of false security, as trappers are only too apt to be, ,an
3 ‘ and relaxed their vigilance somewhat, when Elbert or Dan in
' was not there to keep them in order. Even they began to ca
think that their enemies had lost track of them, or had with— or
'  drawn their forces voluntarily, and after ten days, nothing w
" A more was thought of ,them. ‘ st
, It was afternoon upon the twelfth day, and most of the tl
,trappers were out of camp, some upon exploring expeditions t1
and others after game, for it had been decided to break up si
the camp on the morrow and strike out for’lhe fort. Five tl
men only besides the young captain were in the camp, when I:
Nat came down the mountain side alone. 5
b

c

, U “Come, Elbert, come." he said. “You want to see the
s, whome of the beaver, and Nat will show you; Nat has found it." as
L r: “ Cannot I go too, Nat?” said Elsie, springing to her feet.
' eagerly. _

“‘ The path is rough for tender feet," said the lunatic, “ and‘
we must go on foot. The angel had better stay here, though ’ .
74 Nat would love to have her with him.”

“ Ix ' “I think he is right, Elsie,” said Elbert. “ You know,
that we march to-morruw, and 'you have had uniny a trump
,2, _V ' about the mountains during the past week.”

, “ Just as you say, Elbert,” she replied, pouting. “ If yo:

; ' don't want me to go with you, of course I will stay.”

3' :2 ‘ . " It is not that, Elsie," said Elbert. “ I would do any thing

  ’ ‘ ' to please you, but as Nat says the path is difﬁcult, I think
 ' you had better stay."

' “I‘ will stay, Elbert,” she replied, “and I did not mean

..._.....r-—

 
the
‘hey

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tied
ver-
ing
trd
i a
be,
.an

to
th-
ng

he
as
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:11

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. though Elbert had done a great deal of trapping ip

"’; . ,.‘\~

TEE BEAVER AT. HOME.

. . ' \
“ Then good-by for the present, my\dear girl. ' I’Iwihl coal"

oven
1 are e back, you may be sure of that."

Nat led the way up the mountain side, and as they pro-
ceeded, Elbert was very glad that he had not been persuaded
to allow Elsie to accompany them. The utmost exertion

although Nat, assisting his progress with his spear, which he

'nlways carried, got on with greater case than the younger

man.
Their course was upward; plateau after plateau was passed,

until they crossed one of the higher notches of the mountain,

and began to descend upon the other side. The descent was
more quickly accomplished, although great care was still ne-
cessary, and they came at last to a ledge whichoverlooked
one of those strange streams, the heads of our mighty rivers,
which rise in the mountain regions. on each side of the
stream was a narrow patch of green, and as Elbert crept _to '
the edge and looked down the straight caﬁon through which
the stream forced its way, he saw that it was a mere succes-
sion of beaver-dams, and expanded at regular distances into
those miniature lakes formed by these sagacious animals.
Hundreds of them were disporting in the water, performing
strange antics and beating the water into foam with their
broad tails.
creatures were engaged in building a dam. They had felled
'he tree across the stream almost as skillfully as a man could.
have done it, and were now planting the stakes and chinking
up the crevices with mud, working like skillful masons. Al-
his day,
it had never been his good fortune to ﬁnd a colony of beaver
at work upon a new dam, and he Was almost sorry that he
had not stiti‘cred Elsie to come with him, that she might

>, have the pleasure of beholding the strange sight, and he was
_ almost tempted to wait another day and bring her here for
i the purpose.

 
“ Nat knows the beavers and the beavers know Nat,” said

hing sitting on the bank and telling them what to do.” I
It did indeed seem as if the staid ,old beaver whom the

was necessary to enable them to climb the mountain path, ‘ '

Just below them a colony of the wonderful I ,

4

1' the wild man, in a low whisper. “ Hal ha! look at the old ' rm

f, pointed out was king of the dam, for there was an air of on- -- N  7..

    
I understood what he wanted and did the work at once. 1

, out and drag it to the point which seemed to need it most

K they heard the crack of riﬂes in the valley on the other side

V, Albert. grew pale as a horrible. doubt began to force itsell‘ upon * ‘ '

’ L, ' 7 THE BORDER Humanss.

 5 . ‘ onn,
.r thorlty in all his motions, and of implicit obedience on L hey
part of his followers, which was simply amusing, and at th , .ww

same time instructive. He seemed to send the diti'erent men "HS
bers of his 'family here and there, and what is more, the i ,1“,
. . , rin,
«was a. Sight to see the beavers ptlc the mud upon the Mom 3m u
,.ﬂat tails of their companions, and then see them gravely se 1“ h
- . ,, , _ wen
accompanied by the “king, who took a monarchs interesmc
in what was going on.

. . . - 5W“
Elbert looked on, h1ghly amused, for some time, While l\a Sp“
kept up his whispered comments upon the proceedlugs,51inc

laughing to himself as he told of the times he had spent he'
side the stream, watching the beaver at their work. Elbert mm
knew that egreat amount of wealth was before his eyes in be“
Abe various beaver—dams, waiting only for the skill of the hm
trappers to draw it forth. He had performed his duty; had
found fresh grounds for the labor of the brigade during the
coming season, and nothing was left for him to do but re- _
turn and report to the company’s ofﬁcers his great success.
"‘ Elbert is glad to see the beavers,” said Wild Nat, “and ~

h
L

Net is glad to show them to him because he is kind to Nat: 

, and loves the angel. Let us go back, and when we have
taken the angel to the fort, where she will be safe, we will m

» return and trap the beavers and catch Curt Melvin and hang
_him up in the sight of the huzzards.” . 

“That is what 1 intend to do, Nat,” replied the young
captain. “ Let’s be gettintor back, for we ought not to leave “

the camp too long under the care of live men, and rather
lazy ones at that, or they would be out on the hills.” 5
They again began the ascent, and were part way up, when V

 
“ Confound them! llow dare they ﬁre riﬂes after what V
1 told them? Do the fools want to bring the lndians after v
as ‘1“

«A confused sound of ﬁring.)r came up from the valley, and

him. Had the Indians attacked the camp, or what was the

- use Of the confusion? Nat uttered mic of his wild cries
 Ind bounded up the mountain at a terrible pace, and the, '

z

A. GORY aren't '.

oung man, straining every nerve, bounded after him until ‘

hey reached the summit, from which the valley lay in fair '

iew before him, a mile away, but the spot where the camp,

. as set was hidden from his view by the interVening trees.

’1 Ebert raised the bugle to his lips and sounded the call to
Iring in his straggling men, even as he rushed down the
mountain some distance behind Wild Nat, who was going, ‘

lu lulu:r leaps which it was impossible to imitate. On they
went, and as their feet struck the level, Nat shook his torri-‘l

'ble spear and dashed furiously forward, and as he passed the
fwoods, the old hills runer with the cry he uttered. Elbert‘
_ sprung to his side, and saw in a moment that he was too
‘ 'late. 7 '

Scattered about the sword in various positions, their wea-
:pons clasped in their dead hands, lay the ﬁve men who had
been left to keep camp, sealpvd and gory. They had fought
hard, for the earth was bloody in many places, and although
the Indians had carried oﬂ" their dead, they never could have
=conquered those tivu men without losing some of their num-

“her. But, where was Elsie? Had they killed her, too, and

had her bright. young, life come to a bloody end? Nat ran

here and there with his face bent near the earth,looking with

.Stl‘tmge inteutuess upon the ground, studying the trail.

“ Can you give me hope, Nut ‘1” gasped Elbert. “ 0h, tell
: me that she is not dead." A 
“l\'ot dead—oh—no—no. Better dead than where she
is!”

“ Who has taken her? Can you tell me that, you to

whom the earth is an open book ?” '
‘ “ Curt Melvin has been here,” replied Nat, pointing to a»
» » footmark on the earth. “ Curt never sleeps when he seeks
vengeance. Nat has followed his trail too far not to know

it. when he sees it." ‘ I} -

“What is to be done ?” , .v ‘
“Nat will go—will follow the ‘ trail and tell where they
‘ go. He has an car like a hound and an eye like an eagle.
He can tell where a mouse has stepped upon the grass, and
i . can he not follow the course of: heavy feet? Look. here I”
'1 'Near the body of one of the slain men an arrow had been ' ; ,
thrust into the grcund, and ﬂuttering on it was a bite!  - ,,

 
.V

_ i

Ust

   
" ' ag’in as you, and it won’t do.
 I’m the only one that can keep up with him on a long trail.

~ fill, or you know how much depends on you.”

m 301mm humans.

 
o‘er. Nat took it oti' and gave it to'Elbert, who read it with

’ 5‘ brain which seemed on. ﬁre.

“ To ELBER'r SPENCER, LONG—ARMED DAN, and all whom it
may concern .'

" Having occasion for the society of the young lady called
Elsie Vedder, who has for some time been allowed to remain
in-your'catm), Iliuve indueed her to leave it. You will re-
member that the young lady is my promised wife, and 1 only
seek my own. Any foolishness whieh may have come into
the head of your captain is now set at rest iorever, as the young
lady will never return. You may say 10 1101‘ l'(‘Pllied WWW,
Peter Vedder, that i will take at least as good care of her as
he can. With many protestations of esteem, and sorrow for
your loss, I remain truly yours, CURTIS MELVIN.”

\ This diabolical note, so skillfully written, drove Elbert
nearly mad. The men came hurrying in at the call of the
bugle, but stood appalled as they saw their unfortunate com-

' mules dead upon the sod, and they began to make wild
Queries as to how this had happened. To all this there was
but one.answer—-—Curtis Melvin !

“But we kain’t let it go so,” said Long-armed Dan. “ I
for one‘ ain't goin’ back to the fort without our Elsie. I
dare not face Peter Vedder and tell him we let his darter git
stole away by that consarned critterl"

" .S‘ Nat will go,” said the wild man. “ He will ﬁnd them,

, and when they ure found he will come back to you.”

“ That’s the only chaince," said Dan. “ I kin trail some
'but Nat kin beat me. Now my idee is to set him on the
trail and let him foller it as fast as he kin while we stay whar

r ,we ar’ and wait for him.”

“ I can not wait," cried Elbert. “ I must go with him.”

“You’ll only hamper him, Elbert. He kin travel as first

If any one is to go with him,

- And, come to think of it, I‘d better go, for when we ﬁnd
’em one,must stay to watch while the other goes back to
warn you.”

_ {Your plan is a good 0116,” said Elbert, “ and I will try
to restrain myself. Waste no time then, but be oﬁ‘ at once.

:" Thirest‘o! you bring spades and let us bury these poor lads
Whohsvo fallen. Good-by, Dan; good-by, Nat, and be care

r

 
JAJnAHCs-It“

 
I Dnd sorrowfully the others set to work burying their dead.

 
\ _ , ;.~‘~’

uoemr. '

 
The two strange scouts hurried away to‘gethegsnd slowly /
/

Elsie, after the young captain had gone from the camp,
hnd amused herself for some moments with her guitar, and
was picking out an improvised air, when she was startled by

an oath from one of the trappers and saw him spring to his ,"

feet and discharge his riﬂe at a body of men who were rush-
ing furiously upon the (ramp. At a glance she recognized
them as part of the force which had captured her before, and
foremost among them rode Curtis Melvin and Hank Wilson.
The other trappers sprung up and discharged their riﬂes and

'three of their enemies Went down ; and then, seeing nothing 

for it but to sell their lives dearly, hatchets and revolvers
Were drawn and a terrible fray, ﬁve to ﬁfty, was at once
commenced. Elsie saw her brave defenders the center of a.
wild mass of tossing arms and glittering steel ; pistols cracked,

I oaths, cries and groans intermingled, and when the mad fray

Was over they lay dead upon the sod, and their scalps hung
in the belts of the ﬁerce warriors who had slain them. A
moment after Melvin pushed his horse to her side, and bowed.
low before her, showing his white teeth in a manner which was
any thing but pleasing. - ’ x ‘

“And thus we meet again, my dear Elsie l” he said, in a
jocular tone. " I told you when we parted that you '- should.
see me once more." ‘ '

“Coward; you have murdered these brave men
blood." ,

“Cold? Hardly so, my dear Elsie. I never heard any

in cold

one accuse these'lndiiins of being particularly cold#hlooded.  M

Hunk, come this way, please."
Wilson rode up with a grin upon his dark face.
“This lady is in your chnrge, Hunk. Take good care

of her and get her a horse, for she has consented to

ride with us. How many of our lads did these fellows ' put
down ?”
“Four killed and seven wounded,” replied ﬂank.
of the wounded has got his gruel.” -
“ Even up, eh? A life for a life.

many, but they fought like demons. Get; use an BHOW,W",

 
“.One .

It: seems to mews ’
might have put ﬁve men on their backs without losing 10‘,

 
.t'

 
mounting he tore a leaf from a note-book and wrote the let;

the earth where it was found.

CHAPTER IX.

A NIGHT IN MELVIN‘s CAMP.

ELsm looked hastily about her, calculating the chances of
I escape, and was just about to make an attempt at ﬂight,
\ _ \ when Hank Wilson touched her on the arm.
I. ' “ Don’t try it, my lady,” he said. “ It won’t do you any
,. ' _ good, for I should have you eg’in in half a jiti‘. Better take
’- , it easy, since you’ve got into trouble, and don‘t make Curt an.
gry. for there‘s no telling what he mout do in sech a case.” ‘

“I wish to speak to him; tell him so at once.”

1y, sauntering up with a. jaunty air. “ Sorry to put you to
any inconvenience, but these fellows deserved all they got.
. May I ask where Spencer is ‘r”
},‘,"- . f “ Thank Heaven he was not here, Curtis Melvin—you
' V ‘ Would have murdered him."
} “ And, pray, what did he intend to do with me when he
. caught me the other day? I should have showed him the
I same mercy he meant for me, of course.”
:27“. .‘i- ‘,‘ Your vengeance is satisﬁed now, I hope, and you will
;_’let me go free.”
 - “Satisﬁed! When every man of his accnrsed party is,
54"- .dend, then, and only then, shall I be satisﬁed. And as to let-
ting you go, that is out of the question. Have you forgotten
that you once promised to be my wife?” -
“ I have forgotten nothing I once promised, neither have I
' forgotten that you yourself opened my eyes to your sinful

I, ». hm There is nothing in common between us, and I must
‘jdqtan'you all my‘vlife long."

  
I

J

l

 
ter to Elbert, thrust the arrow through it, and pushed it into ’

“ Here he comes; tell him so yourself. Curt, hi ! Lady
.7 , wants to speak to you.”
 “ I am quite at yourrservice, Elsie," said Melvin, familiar- '

 
i of
:ht.

my
the
in-
l

  
' of you get out of this as soon as you can, and leave me to

, point they rode hnrd, nnd at nightfall were buck in fttllllllﬁ!

forcw of Burenn and Negnru. /

At this moment they heard the yell of Wild’Nat, as
he leaped up the mountain side from the beaver stream. As
'he heard it, Melvin became ghastly pale, and/turned hurriedly ‘
to his companions. ‘ '

“Do you hear thnt, lads ?" he said. “The shots have
roused them and they are coming. Let’s be off at once.
,That is the voice of the Gulch Terror.”

“You fear Wild Nut. and with good cause,” said Elsie.
“ Coward ! murderer! I will not go with you.”

“ Living or dead, you go with me. /

   
“ Will not l” he hissed.
Bid good-by to Elbert’ Spencer, for you have seen him for the
last time.”

“Keep off 1” she cried.
your life i” V ‘ . .
She laid her hand upon the little revolver she carried, but
at a. signal from Melvin, Hunk Wilson seized her by both =
arms from behind, and held her first. v _ 

“ I reckon you’d better take that little my away from her,
Curt,” said the desmrado, quietly. “ She's got spunk enough
to use it right smart, if she got u chance.” I V
. Melvin advanced and took the revolver and knife from her I
belt, and placed them in his own. ' i 

“Children should never be allowed to play with edged
tools,” he said. “Bring up a horse here, Bards. The rest

“ Do not touch me, as you value

manage the girl.” _
The Indians were quickly in the saddle, and Wilson‘and
Melvin placed the struggling girl upon her own horse which
had been hrought up, and rode nwny, keeping her horse be “*
tween them. She cried out once, when they gagged her, '
-innhing it impossible for her to give an alarm, and they diSup-
peared in one of the many purses which led into theyhlley,’
just as Nut and Elbert appeared upon the scene. From this .

scenery, upOn the spot where the Prophet hud th‘lCd the

“Camp down," said Melvin. “ I’ll take charge of the girl. . {
Now, my dear. I don't wish to be harsh with you, but will '
you agree not to run away, if I don’t tie you 2" . r
“ N o.”

 
.l- 2 ‘-

,, ﬂy- .\ .
r143 BORDER hummus

  
’,“"Y‘ou intend to, try to escape 9”
- : .- “ The very ﬁrst opportunity."
' “Your pride must have :1 full, my lady,” he said, ﬁercely.
"I will tench you that you are to have no will but mine.
'4 ; ' when you are my wife." _
r r "' That shall never be, if knives are sharp and waters will
. drown.”
“ You would destroy yourself sooner than marry me ?"
“Yes; I will nevor be your wife.”

 
“ This is your decision?”
“ It: is.”
,v ‘ ., ‘f There are worse fates than even that of becoming my
' wife,” he said, slowly.

, “ I can think of none.”
' “‘ There is a Blackfoot chief who has a. sort of claim upon
you which he waived in my favor. You have seen him——

   
Negarn.”
_ She uttered a cry of horror, as she remembered the horri-
 . ‘ble fnce 0f thatredouhted warrior, us he bent over Elbert in
 ‘ . the act of striking a knife into his heart.

I ’ ‘f It ‘is simply a. matter of taste,” said Melvin, coolly.

“ Much as I Would prefer to marry you myself, I must give
‘ 'you up to him in case you are obstinate. In fact, I passed
,‘ my word ,to him that I would do so."
" ,:‘.Xou can not mean it. This is too horrible even to think.
of. ’

“Donbtless it looks so to you. Now Negnm is 8. sort of
Indian Adonis, and the hundsomest women of the tribe are
egger to come into his lodge. You are very hard ,to please."

“ You are not a mun—you are it ﬁend, Melvin. You do

'I ‘1 9 lendyou any thing,r to eat?"
I‘ “No; I could not swullow a morsel of food."
“ You will neezl strength, even to run nwny,” he said. “ By

| the way, I will introduce you to your guards.”
‘ ,  He whistled, and two ferocious-looking wolf-hounds, with
. . ,ot eyes, came bounding up to him, and laid their
1; ‘v r ‘_ ;  into his outstretched palms,

 
3. this simply to annoy me and untke me wretched.” ‘
‘ if. ' “ You have never annoyed me, I suppose," he said. “ llut
" ’. I havesnid enough to-nieht and will leave you. Shall

 
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I “ These two beauties will lie near you to-night, my, dear,‘
” girl, and I would not advise you to wander too far from um . *
‘y-L camp, or they may bring you back in a way which will not i '
18. suit you.” ‘ '
. “ Take them away, for pity’s sake. Do not let; them'touoh ,
ill me, Melvin.” '
"I am glad to have found a vulnerable point in your char-r
, aeter, my lady," he said. “ So you do not like my two
friends, Lion and Terror ‘3"
“I can not bear the sight of them. Take them away, I beg
of you.”
y “They won’t hurt you unless you try to run. You had .
' better let me leave them near you and they will save you the
trouble of making a promise which you might break. You
:1 know you broke a promise made to me once."

- “ It was your own act. I loved you then, Curtis, why de-
ny it. I thought you a good and noble man, but when I ’0
i- saw you as you are, I cast you aside as I would any unholy
l1 thing.” ‘ i -
t‘ Exactly ; and as you would fer-get your promise if I were - ,
7. weak enough to trust to it to-night, since you object to the
9 dogs, I will try to ﬁnd other guards.” g _
'1 He went away, and shortly after, two Indians cameand
spread some dry leaves and moss under a tree. and threw some
C- blankets upon it, and signiﬁed to her that it was here that

she was to pass the night. She could make nothing by re:
sistance, so she sat down on the blankets, leaning against the
tree, and the Indians sat down not ,far away, one upon' each”-
side of her, immovable as statues, and sleepless to all appear-
) unce, as owls at night. Whenever she looked up, they sat in ’ /
' l the same position, their eyes ﬁxed upon her watchfully. Af-
t ter a time, fatigue got the better of her, and throwing one of
the blankets over her, she lay down with her headresting on
her rounded arm, and was soon fast asleep. As she lay there ,
in her innocence and beauty, Curtis Melvin, who had been '
seated by one of “the ﬁres, in deep thought, arose and came
toward‘her, and leaning against the tree, looked [down into I
l the sleeping face with a strange expression in his own;
“ Innocence—yes,” he muttered, “ both innocent and "‘ *
’ coed. This girl has it in her power to change all, to‘ make

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 the another sort of bemg; but can she give me back the good

 
of y
name I once had,can she wipe out the many crimes with yer:
which my life is stained? And she hates me; ah, I deserve “

, it at her hands.” Per

" - , She stirred uneasily in her sleep, and murmured a name, “

 ' and as he bent to listcn,lie heard that of his rival, Ella-rt to,
Spencer, and a look of rage came into his face. onl

f‘Jl‘hat young hound shall not have her, at. least. I8 ‘

‘W‘ould have hanged me, hanged me like a (log, and his int» n for

would have looked on and laughed. Curse him,] will havu ‘

’ my revenge upon him, and what better than this 1’" “ G

, ‘ He remained for nearly half an hour lookim.r down upon ant

5/ the sleeping face, and then moved away and lay down an;
-under the shelter of a bush, scarcely twenty feet away. A kit

 ‘life of wandering had made the man careless of exposure,

. and he slept as sweetly as if his pillow had been of down, in- w
I stead of the hard earth of the canon.

" h r ' The camp was at rest, and nothing moved save where an m
L .. Indian stalked out in silence to take the place of another, an
i» 3 ‘whose time of guard duty was over. The rest slept soundly W"

by'their ﬁres save where now and then one of them sat up, w

lighted his pipe at the embers of the ﬁre and smoked stolidly

 before lying down to rest again. It might have been mid- M

night, when the camp was aroused by a fearful cry of agony, tr

i I; and every man started to his feet, thinking that the enemy h‘
was upon him. Twenty or thirty of the savage hand seemed

 to be struggling together in the center of the glado, and ii

thenithey were burst asunder as though an earthquake b

 had passed through, and a gigantic figure rushed out and was a

' ' lost in the darkness. One remained. prostrate upon the 1.:
' ’ .Earth, but; not alone, for three ﬁgures lay scattered about who
would never rise again. "They dragged the prisoner to his

feet and brought him: forward to the light 'of the tire and a

V 89w that it was Long-armed Dan, the scout. I

‘ “ Ha, my friend): said Melvin, “ I am glad to see you.” I

 n “ I wisht I could return the complitnent,’Curt," replied Dan, 1

< 1_‘but. in jestice to my good sense I lmin't do it.” 1

' I“ Do yov snow that you have put yourself into the lion’s
this?" . .
“A lion? avpolecat, you mean. Why, rot me all to pieces

 
i
/

woman or  I, 7 ‘ 71

cf you don’t disgrace the noble animile I speak of by makin!
yerself the ekal of it." I - . I

“ You have a long tongue as well as long arms, my lad.
Perhaps we may ﬁnd a way to make you wag it less."

"Who keel-s? You‘ve got me, an’ that’s enutf. I tried
to git that pritty gal out of yet claws au’ failed. I ain’t the
only one she hez on her side, you bet.”

“ Oh, Dun, my brave fellow," said Elsie. “I am so son~
for you." ‘ _ . '

“ I ain’t got nothin’ to say ’bout it, Miss Elsie,” suid Dun. 5
“Good Lord, I hope I know how to stand grief as well as
another man, an‘ ef I‘ve got to go under I reckon I kin A
stand it. He ain’t goin’ to skeer Long-armed Dan, nohow he
kin ﬁx it.” I‘

“ Tie him neck and heels, Hank," said Melvin. " We will
attend to his case in the morning."

“ Au’ dig a hole to plant your carrion in, too, you useless
thief," roared Dan. “ Wagh i What a lot of polecuts, half-
au’-halfs un' prnry-wolfs the Blackfoot nation kin turn out
when it tries. lt's enuﬂ‘ to make a man forgit his parints
when he sees it." .

A growl of rage ran through the ranks of the followers of
Melvin, and Dan smiled, for, knowing that they would tor-

ture him in the morning, he wished to provoke them to give .-

him an easy death at once.

“ Boss-thieves, mushrut-eaters au’ diggers! A Pawnee
like Matonah could lick the hull b'iliu‘ of you in two minutes
by the capt’in’s watch. Ef I hadn‘t got my feet tangled in
It lax-int I‘d hov cleaned out the hull party—I would, by mor-
tality, yes I" _

“ Dan, Dan," said Elsie. “ You are making them angry.”

" They can’t git mud, Miss Elsior I’m, doubtful ef that’s,
a man among ’em that ever struck any thing bigger than]
ground-hog. That big thief with the grizzly claws round
his neck never got ’em fair.” Then, speaking in the Indian
tongue: “ He stole them from a hear I killed; he had not
the heart to kill for himself." '

The Indian he referred to, a ferocious-looking mags with
I necklace of besr's claws, uttered a howl of rage at this an- '
nouncement. No insult which Den could have uttered would

 
m, BORDER newness.

have struck so deep as this, for his reputation was built upon
the very trophy to which the scout so insultingly pointed,
:.nd Dan knew it. ‘In an instant a naked hateln-l glennretl in
the band of the Indian, and Long-armed ]‘-..n closed his eyes,
but, with a leap like a panther, Melvin bounded into the circle
and clutched the Indian by the arm.

“ Stand buck l” he cried, in a voice of thunder, in the In-
dinn‘ tongue. “ Lay not a ﬁnger on him, for your lives.”

, i “ I know’d they wouldn’t hev the pluck to do it," said Dan.
“ Pshnw I I‘m ’shamed because I killed this chap.” -

And he spat in the face of the dead Indian who lay at his
feet. His companions made a simultaneous rush at the bold
‘Bcout, and with uplifted hatehets strove to cut him down
The half-breeds and disguised white men rushed between
them and their prey and beat them back by force.

“By the big horn spoon,” said Dan. “You chaps is

. Mighty ’hard to suit. I thought I’d insulted you enuﬁ‘. How
does that suit, then ‘3”

And he spat‘ in the face of Curtis Melvin who was near
him. 'The desperado turned livid but said not a word, but
pressed buck the Indians, shouting to his immediate followers
to standrﬁrm.

 “ Men of the Blackfeet,” he cried, “ you shall have your
'revenge in the morning, but not now. Stand back, I say i"

' They at last withdrew sullenly, and Dan, bound hand and
foot, was left alone at the mercy of the wild hand. For a
few moments the tumult had been frightful, and the confu-
“01) great, end none of the band but had been mixed up in

. it more or less. . . \

"-,Y<>n are mine,” hissed Melvin, " and in the morning I
shut! claim my revenge. This mark shall not. be wiped from
my juce until 1 can wash it clean in your blood."

' “ Just. as you say, Melvin, but I’d rather you ﬁnished me
st once.”

Melvin shook his ﬁnger at him menacingly, but made no
other sign, and turned away. Then, for the ﬁrst time be
thought. of Elsie and looked about for her, and then a cry of

‘ lingo burst from his lips.
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CHAPTER I.
rumor. saxrmnu.

WILD NAT and Long-armed Dan had followed the trail
at the villains who had broken up the camp and carried
away Elsie, and were surprised to ﬁnd they made no eﬂort to
cover their trail, all their movements indicating a sense of se-
curity, and a contempt of any thing the brigade could do to
injure them, and they came suddenly in sight of the camp,
after the ﬁres had been lighted and the guards set. Ap-

v

proaching, as only skillful scouts know how to do, they crept '

near and looked into the sleeping camp. When Curtis Mel-
vin approached and looked down into the sleeping face of
Elsie, they were not twenty yards away, lying prostrate be-
hﬁid a bowltler, watching him intently. The scoundrel lit
tle knew how near he was to death that night, for the ﬁnger
of Dan was three times upon the trigger of his riﬂe, and he
was only restrained from ﬁring by the , thought that Elsie
Would be in greater danger without the protection of Melvin
than she was with him alive. At least he would protect her
from all others, as he loved her himself. '

_ They remained quiet, until the man went away and lay

down to rest. But the Indian guards did not move, sitting
like statues gazing at their charge. Dan thought if they

could once get Elsie safely out of camp they could escape ,

into the mountains and manage to elude their pursuers. But,
could it be done?

' He looked at Nat and saw that he was trembling in every‘

limb, though not with fear. The crazed being could under-

stand that they dared not do Melvin any injury while Elsie '

Was a prisoner, and yet it required the effort of all his will
to refrain from springing forward and plunging his spear into
his body. The two guards were nodding, and after a lit-
tle stretched themselves upon the earth and were soon fast

‘ asleep.

“ Them chaps ain‘t lnjuns," thought Dan.

“ They wouldn’t
go to sleep—they ain‘t in it." ,- ~ ’

 
mama smm- ,
The scouts exchanged looks, and began to creep nearer to
the sleeping girl, keeping the great tree between them and the
ﬂi‘e. They were just about to attempt to rouse her, when a
heavy body descended on the back of Dun, with an Indian
exclamation, followed by the appalling war-whoop. Dam
shook him off, and his bowie flushed, and when he drew it
back it_was deeply dyed in the blood of the Indian, who
rolled dead to the earth. Both now sprung up and would
‘have ﬂed, but, as it touched by a magiciun’s hand, every In.
(lieu bounded to his feet and surrounded them.

The result we know. Wild Nat broke out and escaped,
when he saw that Dan was down and overpowered by many
enemies, and in the confusion which followed, Elsie also
dipped away and ﬂed like a spirit into one of the many

" passes of the mountains. She had only one thought, and that
was to put as much distance as possible between herself and
her enemies. V The night was not very dark, and she was out
of sight before her escape was discovered. but she heard the
about which arose when she was missed, and knew that she
Wmlld he pursued.

It was well for her that her forest training had made her
ﬁctive and strong of limb, and she ran at a speed which
Would have troubled most men to imitate. The course she
{trick was over a rocky path where no scout could trace her,
,h‘“ 313.9 had not the most distant idea where she was or into
.What danger she was hurrying. It was enough for her that

, 1113 took a direction which was leading her away from Mel-
/ ‘ Viu’s camp, even though she starved in the mountains. She
‘ ' ‘heﬁrd the sound of voices in pursuit, and knew that some of
~ I them Were taking the same course with her, and they had

Hrs-"hes. As she hurried on in the darkness she stumbled
over a stone and fell, and to her horror, she found herself
ﬁt“ng ilito a cleft in the rock. Before she had time to
think, she was sliding down a sloping rock, and landed safe,
although somewhat. bruised upon a hard, rocky ﬂoor. Scarce-

: r ]y had she regained her feet when she heard the rush of

I, U 9°")th fOOMePS. and paused as she was about to make an

“min 10 Climb up out of the cavity, preferring to take her
,¢,ﬁceg 01 reruns/ting hidden in this place, to fact“ foes no

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The footsteps came near, and paused a moment near the
chasm, as if to listen; some words were spoken in the In-
dian language, and then the men, for there were two at least,
hurried on up the mountain pass. Elsie was about to creep
out of her place of concealment, when the entrance to the
place was darkened, and she hastily retreated, and for the t
ﬁrst time became conscious that she was in some sort of a
‘;:uve, and of considerable depth. She began to grape her ,,

,way back cautiously, her heart beating wildly, and found that
the ﬂoor was hard and smooth, but a sickening, fetid smell
arose from the walls about her, and for the ﬁrst time she re-
alized that she was in the den of some wild beast, and the
conviction forced itself upon her that it might ,return and
ﬁnd her there. It was a horrible thought, and ﬁlled with ,a
vague dread, she retreated further and further into the cav-
ern, until she no longer inhaled the fetid odor of the wild
beasts’ lair. _,

A scratching noise was heard at the entrance to the cave,
and shortly after, a bulky body slid down the inclined plane,
with a reaping, metallic sound as the claws dug into the lime-
stone rocks. Filled with fear, she ran back hastily, and found
her way stopped by a barrier of solid rock, with shelving‘
projections here and there. The beast, whatever it might be, ‘
was not alone, for three other huge bodies came tumbling
down, two of them of smaller size, but even the smallest
looming up vaguely through the 'gloom of the place. All ,at
once the thought struck her that these could be only theti’ter-
ror of the mountains, the Grizzly and his family.

At this horrible conviction, she felt herself grow faint, but
recovered herself by a powerful effort of the will, and began
to think of ways and means of escape. Feeling about '0!
the rock with a cautious hand, she became convinced that tlu
first shelf. some two feet from the ﬂoor, was wide enough fot
her to stand on, and she stepped up carefully and, felt for,

, another projection upon which she could set her feet. She

found them, one after another, and continued to ascend uuth
she was satisﬁed that she must be at least twenty feet above I
the ﬂoor of the cavern, and paused for breath. ,From her’
aerated perch, she could plainly see the huge beasts 8.3

 
m manna mm /

{ade playful cubs rolling over them in various uncouth
w‘ay‘s, uttering their peculiar note when in sport. The place
where Elsie now stood, was some two feet wide, and she sat

down torest, satisﬁed that the bears did not suspect hcr pres-

ence, and that for the present she was safe. But how would

"it be when daylight shone into the place, and they began to

'and she could see where she was.

mah- to‘their fullest extent.

wander about in search of food?

’It was nearly three o‘clock, and it must be three hours be-
fore she could have light enough to realize her terrible situa-
tion, or to make any effort, if such an effort were possible, to
escape from the trap into which she had fallen.

' ‘ What a night she passed, perched upon that narrow shelf,
waiting'for the light to show her whether she was devoted to

‘death, or had the slightest chance of escape!

The light came slowly on, and the bears began to move,
The shelf to which she
had climbed was near the root of the cavern, which was hung
here and there with limestone stnlaclites. The restless cubs
were wandering here and there, and one of them was slowly
drawing himself from ledge to lodge toward her. The old
heart: were still sleepy, though now and then they raised their
terrible heads, as the cub which remained upon the ﬂoor
bounded, over them playfully, and uttered low growls, showing
their ugly fangs. The climbing cub had seen Elsie, that was
evident, and was coming up for anearer inspection, not wish-

‘ ing to create unnecessary alarm.

There was something ludicrous, even in the extremity of
terror, in the appearance of this fut young rover, as he drag

'ged hlsheavy body from ledge to ledge, with his head turned

knowingly to one side, and his eye ﬁxed upon the intruder to
1his domain. He was going up to see about it, and if there
'was any thing wrong, he proposed to report at once to pupa_
and mamma, who were taking- matters so coolly down below.
VElsie drew cautiously back upon the platform, and found
‘a 'place where she could be out of sight of her horrible
neighbors below, and which her inquisitive young friend
could not reach, except by standing upright and stretching his
She heard him growling in a
 planner at her sudden disappearance, and directly

"  head showed itself above the ledge, and no

 
4 &/ WU. W03. 

L put up his huge pawsvto drag himself up. , Elsie caught upya V
loose piece of limestone and dashed it with all her force up»,
on the head of the cob, who relinquished his hold and rolled]

to the bottom, uttering ferocious cries, and biting and scratch
ing furiously.

The old bears rose at once. Evidently they made up their
minds that there had been some unwarrantable force used

'agninst their offspring by a person or persons unknown, hid-

den upon the ledge, and it behooved them as heads of the fam—
ily to see about it at once. A growling conversation followed,
in which the injured cub took the loudest part, and then El-
sie could tell by the sounds she heard below that one of the
bears had commenced the ascent. Looking down, she saw

that the head of the family was coming up, showing his teeth ‘

ﬁercely, and watched in his course by the rest of the family,
who, sitting upon their haunches, took a deep interest in the
proceedings.

Elsie was about to give up in despair, when she noticed
that the ledge upon which she stood was continued along the
wall of the cavern, and that it narrowed ‘as it proceeded, un-
til it was only wide enough for a single person, by clinging to
the projections above, to keep a footing upon it. Springing
up, she began to creep out upon this shelf, holding by the
staloctites above her head, and proceeded until another step
would have made her footing too precarious. Here she

paused, and clinging to a projecting stalactite with one hand,*

she looked back at the grizzly.

He reached the ledge at which his progeny had come to
grief, and began to lift his huge body cautiously, evidently
expecting a blow, and prepared to receive it. The blow did
not come and he reached the ledge in safety, and looked
about for Elsie. Catching sight of her, he uttered a growl of
terrible depth, which was answered by his family below, and
began to creep put upon the ledge, step by step, and Elsie
watched him with fearful interest. Crowding his huge body

close to the wall, he reached a place about six feet from her, ‘
_ and here he paused, feeling that he was trending upon dan- ‘

serous ground, and that another step might set, him rolling
down to the ﬂoor beneath, and he felt a presentiment that lit

‘ would hurt him to {all so far. Elsie saw this with, delight.

1

 
‘\

«ﬁr m new , ammo.

and began to hope that, for the present, she was beyond hh

I roach.

 Bruin made another’step, but withdrew his foot instantly,
as he felt that his brawny shoulder pressed too hard against.
the Wall for comfort. Lying down upon the ledge, be ex-
tended his huge paw and made an effort to sweep Elsie from
the ledge into thewaiting jaws of his family below. But,
stretch as much as he could, there still remained a tlistnncr
or two feet between him and the brave-hearted girl.

' Most women wmld have given way in such a position).
,There lay the huge monster, the foam dropping from his dis-
tended jaws, his wicked eyes twinkling with rage, and the
long, sharp claws reaching out toward her, and she had not
the power to retreat further, but must remain facing him.
Bruin was dissatisﬁed. He felt that an unwarrantable liberty
had, been taken with a member of his family which required
summary vengeance at his hands, and yet he could do noth-

‘ ing. Elsie, seeing that he was helpless to do her harm, be
' gun to recover courage, and set about making her position as

safe as possible. Taking oﬁ‘ her belt she buckled it ﬁrmly
about the stalactite against which she was leaning, and made
a loop in it by which she could hold on more readily, and
passed her hand through it, and watched the futile attempts
of the bear with inWard satisfaction.

It began to be patent to the family below that paterfa-
milias was not able to carry out the project which he had set
out to perform. Their dissatisﬁed growls made the cavern
ring, and lashed the old bear into a perfect fury, and he rose
incautiously and made a longer reach toward Elsie. But, in
doing so, his shoulder struck hard upon a projecting knob in
the limestone, and the next moment he was whirling through
the air, turning once before he struck, and alighting upon his
head with a tremendous crash. Elsie looked downward and
,to her delight saw that he did not move, but lay as he had
fallen, with his head doubled beneath his shoulder in such a
way that she knew his neck was broken. The she-bear apv

‘proachod him in an inquisitive way, patted him with her
new, pushed him, and in various ways tried to attract his at-

' rhodium asit became plain that he would rise no more,

eh, uttered such a growl as might have appalled the shootout

 
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heart: Elsie trembled, but still clung 'to the strap with all'
her strength, as she saw the huge monster, after one more in-
eﬁ‘ectual attempt to arouse her fallen mate, begin to make the
ascent of the ledge, gnashing her teeth with rage.

A glance was sumcient to show Elsie that the she-bear was
not so large as her slain mate, and that she could advance
further upon the ledge than he could possibly have done,
Hwtily‘ removing the strap, she hound it upon a rugged sta
lnctite two feet further on, and clinging to this, she managed
to get that much further along the ledge, and not a moment
too soon, for her huge enemy was approaching, uttering
blood-curdling growls and intent upon taking vengeance upon
the person who she thought had slain hel- mate. She
reached a point from which she could advance no further,‘
and Elsie hoped that she might share the fate of her mate.
But, even in her rage, the she-bear seemed conscious of this, '
and after several ineffectual hut cautious attempts to reach
Elsie, during which her claws were within six inches of the
besieged girl, she retreated backward along the ledge until
reaching a wider place, and lay down upon the rocks Watch-
ing Elsie with an unwavering malignin which was terrihle.
The position in which she now stood was painful, and Elsie
returned to the spot where she had been standing when the
dead hear fell, where she could rest both feet with ease.
Once or twice the bear advanced and drove her back to her
old position, but the moment the enemy retreated she came
back again, leaning against the stalactite. ‘

She was getting weary. An unusual strength had sup-
purted her up to this time, but she felt that it was giving
\m y. Fearing the worst, she took 011‘ her Zouave jacket and
tore it into strips and formed a sort of rope which she fast-
ened to the staluctite in such a way as to give her additional
support. The hour remained in the same position, gazing’at
her with hloodshot eyes, and it was evldent did not intend
to go away. Elsie prayed fervently, while clinging to her
frail/support, for strength to sustain her in the trying hour.
Should she cast herself down and take that death rather 1
than the fearful one which stared her in the face? She felt
herself linking, life and sense were ﬂeeting fast, when she
heard a cry of surprise, and Wild Nat appeared in' the 

 
I THE manna ﬁrmness.

   
. way of the cavern. The unhurt cub sprung at him, and we.
pierced to the heart by his long spear, and the she-bear
launched herself from rock to rock toward this new in«
truder. Elsie ran hastily to the ledge just vacated by her
g enemy, and sunk fainting upon the rocks.

CHAPTER XI.
1:. n. 1832. ‘

TEE followers of Melvin had scattered everywhere in pur~
suit of Elsie, need we say, without result. Several of them
had passed the mouth of the benr's den, but knowing what
purpose it was likely to serve, had not thought proper to im-
.' prove a dangerous acquaintance. The idea that Elsie could

by any possibility have taken shelter there had never entered.
their minds.
Mélvin was in a fury, for all his plans had been set at
I 7 naught by this unlucky oontretemps. He had joined in the
pursuit, and had done his best to recover her, but as the night
progressed and no signs of the girl could be found, he called
in his scattered bands, fearing an attack from Elbert Spencer,
and made a camp again a quarter of a mile nearer the
chasm in whioh Elsie was besieged by the bears, determined
to search for her in the morning and never give up the pur-
5suit until she had been recovered. He lay down in no very
good humor, and was greeted next morning by a very un-
pleasant revelation. Long-armed Dan, by long practice, he
,. acquired considerable skill in uutying knots with his tect’
and he had used his skill to very good purpose during the
V night, and had made his way out of the camp, unseen by his
 > guards, and was gone.
' “A thousand curses follow him!" hissed Melvin. “ If I
'- Im ever betrayed, it will be through the stupidity of the men
1_f ,, (Who follow me. Now of course the Long-armed rascal will
' bringhis friends down upon us, and we shall lose some more
-' 3/ men, but I’ll be cursed if I leave this place until I have found
,Ehie Veddu'.’ ‘

 
\

    
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“i That girl will be your destruction yet, Curt,” said Hank

\Wilson. “ It would be better for you if you had never seen

her." I
“You speak truly, Hank," replied Melvin, morosely, “ but
it is the case of my life that I can not forget her, and, much
as she despises me, I must love her still. How in the name:
of all the ﬁends did you suﬂ'er this Dan to escape 1’ He
will give us great trouble when he gets with Wild Nat
again."
“ Let me once get where I can draw a bead on that wild
madman and he at least will never trouble us more." ' .
“ You can’t kill him,” said Melvin, hoarsely. “ Curse him.
he is bullet-proof, for I have tried him half a dozen times.

and know that I’m not a poor shot.”

“ You are afraid of him, Curt, and I um not,”-said Wil-
son. “ Don’t say that you are not afraid of him, for you
know that you are.” ' "

“ I hnve not denied it, Hank. He is the only being on
earth I really do fear, I tell you. . If it were not for this cursed
prophecy the men of Negara would not he so few.” . ‘ '

The men were standing on the outskirts of the camp V
while-they conversed. All at once Hunk uttered is delighted
cry, and springing to a rock picked off u\ ﬂuttering fragment
of cloth and held it up before his leader. ‘ '

“ A piece of her dress," cried Melvin, eagerly. “ She has.
gone through this pass, then, as I live." ‘ " ' <

“ If she has, she‘cnn’t get out," said Wilson. “ 11’s as per-
fect cul de sac, and only runs about a mile, up. ' We‘ve got
her, as sure as you live. Probably she ‘was hiding aome~
where when it was so dark we Couldn’t ﬁnd her." ‘

They passed by the benrs‘ den, and heard the growbof the ‘
infuriated animals; but had no wish for n closer acquaintance"
The whole party scattered here and there in search, but saw
nothing of Elsie. Reaching the end of the, pass, they turned-
lmck, and were searching up and down among the rocks, when
they heard the cry of surprise which Nat uttered; when lem'
Elsie' in the cave. ‘ ’ '

“ Nat is there,” cried Melvin. " Oh, my God,Elsicisthere,
too,’and the‘bears are attacking them. ~Who is man enough

/

tofollow me?" p - A .

 
’ {’- v.,r.I,.,.-y l 'i’l V;

‘4   m noun W85,

.N’ot a man stirred, for of all things created, the maintain-
’I . men and the Indian fear “ Old Eph."

"‘ Give me your knife, then,” hissed Curtis Melvin. “ Ivvill l:
go‘alone." “
He snatched a heavy bowie from the sheath at the side of 1.,
Wilson, and leaped down into the cave, holding a revolver h
' ~ ready. , As he pushed into the cave, he saw the she-bear leap F,
drum a shelf eight feet above upon the head of Wild Nnt,
whose spear was driven through her body with such form t
(i that the steel point protruded a foot from her back. Nu“
' however, was crushed down by the falling body, and Melvi... 1

running‘up, ﬁred four chambers from his revolver into the « 1
broad 'eur of the beer, and uttered a shout of triumph as the
muscular limbs contracted for the last time.

' ‘At the shout a dozen of his men sprung into the cave, and
109M with dilated eyes at the wild scene about them.

'“ Get some lariats and tie that fellow," said Melvin. “ Tie

‘him tightybeyond the possibility of escape. Our luck is com-
lng‘lmek to us, I think, for I would sooner have this man
than a hundred Long-armed Dans. Get a torch, some one,

i '10.! I don’t see any thing of Elsie.”
"‘ Perhaps she isn’t here," said Hank. “ Or perhaps the
m,__»

“ No, no. It can not be,” gasped Melvin. “ I will not be-
lieve that stirs, soiyoung, so pure, so beautiful, has perished by
such a horrible death."

, “ I'- may he," replied .Wilson. “Nerve yourself to bear the

p ' Vorst that can come to you.”

”  w 1‘0th torches," shrieked the unhappy man. " Four of
W“ Slay and take care of the prisoner, and the rest come with

.1 no." .

\ 7T1“! .111“! not far to go, for the cave narrowed as they utl- ‘

, " “Wed; until it ended in a yawning chasm which seemed to
be of unfathomable depth. One of the men threw in a stone,

‘5 end no nedid so they listened, and after some seconds, heard

- It strike far below. ,

I - " Deep enough,” said Hank. “It can't be that she ran from

‘  “it bears sud fell down here."

 ’« Wt, meld kill you for the thought,” cried Melvin. bound].

'1‘  If I ban driven her to death, I will kill mywlf.”

.i-_

 
assesses-m“ -’ ‘ sit"

A shout from the Indians they had left in charge of the
lnsensible form of Wild Nat called them hack. They mn‘m
the place, and one of the” savages pointed to the shelf above,
where they could see n. corner of a skirt hanging over the /
rocks. Melvin sprung up the ruggcd'side of the cavern, and
his cry of joy rung through it a moment after, and he do;
mended, carrying the insensible form of Elsie in his arms. '

“ I’ve got her," he cried, eagerly. “I don’t-think she
hurt, either. Have you got any liquor, Hank ?"

Wilson gave him a ﬂ wk, and he poured it little of the con-
tents into his hand, and applied it to the nostrils of the sense}-

‘less girl, and put a. little on her lurid lips. / r ' -

“ That's right,” said Hank. “Her color is coming bi:th
and she will be all right in a moment." ‘ ‘ ' ‘
“ What is all this 7" cried a voice; ”“ What am 'I doing
here? Ha! Curtis Melvin, is it you, dog that you are ? Givp"

me back my wife and child 1" _ « :

'The voice was that of Wild Nat, but he was no longer
mad! At a glance it was plain that he was no longer in-
sane. r
A shock had given him back that which a shock had taker? '
away! ‘ ' .

“ Who are you ?" {altered Melvin. “ What do you ask of
me ?” ‘ ' \ .

“ You would know who I am, villain i” cried Nat. “ Pm‘ ',‘
this strange covering on my brémt, and let him look at
it.” t ‘ '

They pushed aside the hairy covering on’ his brash/end,
there, printed with indelible ink, they read the letters: '

“ N. H. 1882." ’ r ’

Melvin recoiled as if he had been struck by lightning, an
a terrible look came into his face. u I .

“ You here 1” he cried. “ You, Wild Nat, the Terror of the
Gulch i" ' ' v x '

“ Yes, it is I, bloodthirsty villain—I and no other} :Whu’
am I doing here? What place is this i?" , ‘

“Stand back, all of you, and let me talk to this man.
Drive them all out, Hank, and watch the entrance.” ‘ j

The lesser villain obeyed the order, and the twp were am
in the cave. ‘ . * ; ,‘

 
~  my new mass
, Wild Nat \regarded Melvin with a strange stare, and it
mod thatJ/lis bewildered mind was striving to regain what
it had lost. ,-

“ You know me, then, Nathan i" said Melvin. “ I did not
think it possible, after ﬁfteen years.”

,“ Know you it Of course I do! I should know you any-
where, and in any disguise. You have worked too much evil
to 'me and mine to be able to forget you."

“ Do you remember all the past ?"

“I remember your treachery, to say the least,” said Wild
.Nat, writhing in his bonds. “ I ask you again, why run I
here, and bound in this way ‘1’"

“ Does your memory retain nothing of the past ﬁfteen
years 1’”

“Fifteen years? What do you mean, man? It is not so
long as that; it. was only yesterday when you did that great
wrong. Andvyet this strange dress, this savage place—I do
not understand. Where is my wife, you dog? Give her
book to me i” V

_ “ Your wife 2" said Melvin, hoarsely. “ I can not give you
backﬁre dead. She was, killed that night.”

“ Killed! Ea, say you so, black-hearted villain? I re-
member noweI remember all. I am Wild Nat, the Terror
of the Gulch—Wild Nat, of the Quartz Ranges—Wild Nat,
the Demon of the Hills, and I am mad, mad 1 Release me,
you black dog! Why am I tied up, like a thief '2”

He was mad again, and Melvin saw it with a sort of pang,
but, at the same time, a terrible thought passed through his
brain. It was better that. this man should die at once, for
while he lived there was no safety for him.

“ Look you, Wild Nat," he said. “ For years you have fol-
lowed me like a shadow, and have always had the best of
every encounter. Now the turn is mine, and you have every
short time to live. I am going to have you killed to make

' myself sate.”
, “ You can not kill me I” replied Nat, hoarsely. “ Death

' ‘ --hae,heen turned away from me so often that I know that I

Ice/n not die until my work is done. You are a fool to think
at. it); .  ‘

\ “ Yet; though you/have done me so much injury, I can not

)

 
Id it
what

not
my.
evil
ild
. I

an

 
Home mum-m. ’ », , 'ﬁ- "

t

J and it in my heart to kill you. There is one‘wbose life, by

a prophecy, depends upon your fate, and I have promised to
give you up to him. That man is Negara, the Blackfoot
chief." '

Upon hearing this Nat uttered such a shout of iaughte
that the walls of the cave echoed back the Sound. I

“Negara? Ha! ha! ha! Does he think to elude me,
me who have watched him so long? Curt Melvin and No:
gara; Negara and Curt Melvin! You are going to give me
up to him because you can not ﬁnd it in your heart to kill
me ?” '

“ Yes; why do you laugh, fool ?"

“ At my own thought,” replied Nat. “ There—go away,
and send Negara to kill me. He is not very far away, you
know." i

“ I was right, Nat,” said Melvin. “ You know too much
for your own good, and I must see that you trouble me no
more." ‘ r

He left Nat uttering his shouts of laughter, lying upon his
back in the cavern, and climbed out of the dismal place.
Here he found Elsie, supported by Hank Wilson, just recov- '
ering from her swooning ﬁt. ’

“You are better, I hope," he said, bending over her and
making a signal to Hank to fall back, while he supported her
head. “ You are not hurt, thank Heaven.”

“ Do not profane that holy name, Curtis Melvin,” said El-
sie. “ It is the will of God that I should fall again into your
hands, and I bow to His will.” ‘ _ '

“ You were wrong to ﬂy from me," said Melvin.

“ Wrong? I am almost sorry that my life has been sayed,
if you are to be my keeper. Do not touch me, sir; your very'
touch is pollution." - ._

“ Perhaps Negara will suit you better," he said. “ I have
told you that there are but these two courses open for you
—-to accept me as your husband or go into the lodge of the
chief. One or the other you must do.”

“ I can at least die,“ she answered, proudly.

“ If the opportunity is given you to do so, I doubt if yOu
would take advantage of it. Most people cling to! life,no
matter how sad that life may be. I am going away to con-

  
\

 
TILE BORDER HUNTRESS.

{fact plans for-the destruction of Spencer‘s brigade of trap

" 99%: and Negam will resume command of this force. You
will be his prisoner, and as such shall have an opportunity to
decide .hetween us."

4‘ GO. if you will,” she said, coldly. “ But, before you go,
tell me what you are to do with that poor man whom I hear
thouting in the cave ?"

“ I have given him to Negnrn, to do with as he will,” re
plied Melvin. “ If you have any appeal to make, let it be
node to him when he comes, although l can tell you now

, that nothing can save him."

“ Why? What evil has the poor man done ‘2"

“ I have no time to explain. Wilson, you will take
amigo Of this Indy. As for the madman, let him remain
in the cave, and set it strong guard over it, so that he
“I! not escape. When Negara comes you know what to tell
him n

r Wilson nodded, with is queer smile, and, whistling up a
1:91.39. Melvin mounted and rode away, leaving Wilson in
charge of the imprisoned girl.
“I hope you [won't try to escape again, my lady, for I
I don’t want to use you roughly. Hank Wilson is a lady‘s
K man, and it goes to his heart to be rough with a lady. Prom,
tee to keep quiet and I won’t tie you."
' “ I promise," said Elsie, wearily. “ I am too weak to make
any attempt at escape.”
“That‘s right, my lady-bird. Don’t try it, and it will be
all right." I
An hour passed and the shouts of Not in the cave were
still continued. The Indians had dragged out the bodies of
the bears and were cutting them up and preparing the' ﬂesh
(or curing, and some of the men lighted ﬁres and indulged in
‘ some savory steaks of bear-meat, which the border-men de-
light in, from its rarity. The clutter of hoofs was heard and
Negtu‘a, in all the ﬁnery of the Indian warrior, rode up nc-
companied by twenty mounted Blackfeet. Wilson started up
and met him, and'tltey drew to one side and engaged in nu
Inknated‘conversntion. The Indian spoke vehemently, wav-
ing Nl‘hsud now toward the cave and then town-d Elsie, and
.  replied, in the some tone. After a talk of some m“-

l

 
who
only

 
map.
You

No

39,
ea?

 
' meats Negara dismounted and came. forward to

 
worm W00“.

are
where Elsie sat, and saluted her with a lofty gestl a, such as
, only an Indian warrior is capable of making. ' .

CHAPTER XII.
'rma LEAP m THE DARK.

x

“ 8mm STAR," he said, “ the white man, who is the friend
of Negara, has sung a sweet song in my ears. He has said, ,
‘ The white maiden who is so fair to look uponwill not
come into my lodge. Go to her, and try if the chief of the

, Blackfeet may ﬁnd favor in her eyes.’ ”

“The white man who is the friend of Negara is an ene‘my
to me,” she answered.

“ He would not be an enemy to the Silver Star," said the
chief. “ What has he done, that the white maiden will not
look with favor upon him ‘2” f ‘

“His hands are red with innocent blood, chief,” she an-
IWBrEd. _

“ Blood must be shed," said Negara, proudly. : “ I myself
have shed much, as becomes a brave warrior, but I have lost
some of my own with it.“ .

“ That was in battle, chief."

“ Silver Star says well. A chief of the Great Nation should ‘
not shed any but the blood of men. Listen to the words of r
Negara. There is a warm lodge in the Blackfoot village and
a bright ﬁre always lighted. It is the home of Negara, and
he lives there alone. It is not good that it is so, and Negara
would change it. Will Silver Star come into the lodge and
keep the ﬁre bright.” = ‘

“ Chief,” she said, “ you ask more than you have a right, .
to demand. Doubtless there are many in the Blackfoot vil-
lage who would gladly be the wife of Negara, for they are
of Indian blood. But, I am a white woman, and can only “
marry one of my own race.” . V,

" It is well spoken," said Ncgnra. “ Look! Half the .4 " g'

\

 
88 ' ' ran no‘smm names-s.

blood vvhloh ﬂows in these veins is the blood of the whites.

The other half comes from the blood of the great Sioux

tribe. Let Silver Star marry a chief who has the blood 01

her nation in his veins."

She shook her head, and the face of the chief, which had
hitherto been persuasive and bland, began to change.

“The white girl is very proud,” he said. “ Does she
know that she speaks to one who can command her to be his
wife 1?”

“ Never 1 . you may command, but I would die before I
would submit to you.”

“Let the white girl think it over," said the chief. “ There
is only one way, and if she is obstinate, a ﬁre may be kindled
which will consume her. Why does Wild Nat cry out so

‘ loudly? His mouth should be stopped since he interrupts the
talk of a chief."

“"What will you do with him, chief?” demanded Elsie.

“He is to die,” said Negara. “ A prophet has spoken in

’ l the ears of Negara and commanded him to do it."

‘.‘ Dare you touch him? Remember that your laws for-
bid you to injure a madman.”

1“ He has shed the blood of warriors. and no law can save
him. Let the white girl stand back until a chief calls for
her again."

"Fuller fears for poor Nat, she stepped back, and Wilson,
in a sort of careless manner, came near her, and it was easy
to see that his business was to keep a watch upon her move-
ments. Negara, calling to his aid four of the most ferocious
Indians in the band, deSCended the sloping entrance to the

den, where he found Nat lying upon his back, laughing ‘

wildly;
“ Eat in I, ha!
kill me. Hurrah l”
“ Silence 1" said the chief. “ You are about to pass across

athe silent river, but'vI am a chief of the Blackfeet, and you
shall say how you will die.”

Here he is! Curt Melvin sent him to

“Unile my feet," said Nat, stopping his wild laughter. -

" You are kinder than I thought."
. Theplndians armed with riﬂes raised them ready to ﬁre,
.w/hiio the chief stepped forward, cut the cords upon the

  
'i:

 
tea '
tux

  
4—775“,

 
;

(A  sun’s   ,,

iiimbe of Nat, and moved back, as the madman rose slowly
‘ I to his feet. '

“ You said I could choose how to die ‘2" he said.
“ The word of a chief is sacred," replied Negara.

a.“

I you say, so shall it be." .

“ My blood shall not be upon your hands, for the Blackfeet
will point at you and say, 'This man murdered a creature
upon Whom the ﬁnger of the Great Spirit had been laid.’ l I
will kill myself if you will let me."

“Be it sol” said Negara, eagerly, and evidently relieved
to be free from the odium of this murder. “Choose your
death.”

“ Follow me," replied Nat, “ all of you.” . '

They paced slowly on, some ten paceﬁ behind the mad-
man, and saw him pause upon the brink of the deep chasm
which has been mentioned. A sort of steam rose from it,
like the reek of a caidron, and Nat pointed downward in
silence, and the chief understood him. ‘ . _

“ You will throw yourself into this place i” said Negara,
"and so save your scalp?" 7 1

Nat nodded in silence, and waving the Indians back, knelt
Ipon the brink of the place which was to be his grave.
those who saw his face thought that never had they seen
any thing so majestic. The Indians stood trembling, their
nervous hands scarcely able to hold their weapons, watching
the kneeling man. His eyes were upraised, and a beautiful
expression passed over his face. Negara, the man least
likely to be moved of all his band, turned aWay his head,for
he could not look upon that face and doom him to death.
At last Net raised his head and came slowly to his feet.

“ Negara,” he said, in a solemn voice. The Indian started
and turned suddenly toward him. . , .. v

" I am about to die, Indian,” said thestrange man, in a
voice which had no touch of madness in it. “ And I aunt'-
mon you to meet me, before to-morrow’s sun shall set, at the
judgment.”

’ “ Do it l" cried Negara, ﬁercely. “Go down, or the riﬂe; I

. shall speak."

W“I am going}? replied Nat, calmly. '“IDo nothing. a
mnwho must die." '  ..  r

  
‘ depth, and then heaped boldly out, and was £01m

5  looked“ once about the cave, once down‘into the awful
The In-
diansiran to the mouth of the opening and looked down, but
could see nothing. All was vnilcd in gloom, and Nat wan
gone.

Negara came out of that dismal place an altered ‘mnn. A
gloom, which could neVer he removed until death called him.
was settled upon his savage face. His eyes were stony, and
he started at every sound which came from the hills. Wil-
son‘a'ppi-oached him'and whispered in an awestruck voice :

' "1st: done 1'”

“ It. is done," replied Negara. “ He will never trouble in
more. and I have made the words of the Spotted Cut a lie.
And now to keep the oath which I swore, to never give up
“‘9 Pursuit of the white men. Let us go.”

r .“ What shall we do with the prisoner l'" said Wilson.
"“ Let her ride by me,” replied the chief. “ I will speak to

' her.”

.' He had no need to call her, for Elsie came forward, with
a look of detestation on her face.

“You are a murderer, chief," she cried. “ You are guilty
of the death of a man who was not accountable for wrong.”

“The Silver Star has a long tongue," he said, ﬁercely.
“Nohand was laid upon him, but he died by his own act."

3‘ Where is he 1'”

‘ “LOOR for him ‘at the bottom of the pit, in yonder cave.
There you Will ﬁnd his bones.”

“The deed will ﬁnd you out," she said. “I feel like a
PNPhetesa, inspired. to tell you that you have not long to
live. Beware l”

.The chief lifted his hand ﬁercely, and it seemed as if he
VII about tostrike her, but he restrained himself by a mighty
dart of his powerful will, and fell back to his horse, telling
Wilton to'tnke charge of her and bring her on.

‘ “ It is hard, Miss Vedder," said Wilson; “the worst thing
1‘ eVer knew him to do; but think it over. He is supersti-
tion“ and a Prophet has told him that either he or Wild Nat

'2' W die, and this is the result."

, “‘Mt‘rkhi wal'  If he killed menhewunot to
madame" . ‘

 
Ire

 
am 17m"'r:v'~:

,, " He had a method in his madness," replied Wilson; in ,
, you noticad it, he took a peculiar delight in wiping out an
men, and it’s no more than fair that he should go under.
",The chief is not so much to blame, and certainly Curt did all
f . he could when he Went away and left him to Negara.”
“(areas mercy that. He knew that the chief would a
Ipare him, or he would neVer have given him up.” v
"lsee it. ain‘t much use trying to talk with you," said
- Hank. " Let us move on.” i
He helped her to the saddle, and they rode on after the 4
? band, who were already in motion. By the addition-of the,
twenty brought 0y Negara, they now numbered seventy,
enough, at least", to meet the brigade with a good chance of
success, although it was against the advice of Wilson, who
had tried to reason with the chief without eﬁ‘ect. ’ -
The chief rode at the head, and Wilson, with Elsie; was.
in the rear, when a loud word of command was heard, and
a close ﬁre was poured into the Indians from both sides of"
the pass. 50 sudden and terrible was the shock that the

  
x head of the column was swept away, leaving the chief almost

alone. Seeing this. ne wheeled his horse and darted back.
in such a way that to ﬁre at him was to endanger Elsie, who
was\with 'that section of the savage band who had been
untouched by the ﬁre. '
“ No more, no more i" cried the voice of Elbert Spencer.
“ Fire not another shot lest you kill her. \Forward, all."
There was a mad rush of men and horses, and the narrow"

 
pass at. once became a scene of the utmost confusion.

Before the savages had time to recover from their ﬁrst panic,
the brigade was upon them, cutting right and. left with their
howies. Negara and Wilson, throwing ~themsehessin front,
' sustained the ﬁght with a gallantry worthy of a‘ better cause-t
but they were struggling with desperate men, who did not
know what it was to be beaten. Back, buck, step by step can
testing every inch' of ground, and staining itwith'sheir Iow-
ing blood, went the hand of Negara. I, ' -’

(Ewe of the immediate adherents of the chief; obeying“ '
order which he shouted to them, had salted Elsie,and rapidly ‘-

oonveyed her to the rear, where she‘wonld be onto! danger, . , t

It was a generous act, and yetths most unfortunath tithe”

 
/,

091‘! he," happened for the Indians. Up to this time the
ligigade had refrained from using that terrible weapon, the re-
volver, fearing to do some injury to Elsie, but as they
saw her move away, a. stunning cheer ran through their
ranks. / ,

“ Revolvers, boys i" cried Elbert. “ Give it to the bloody
dogs."

A hailstorm of bullets began to rattle through the rapidly-
thinning ranks of the Indians, and they fell back more quick-
ly, and some of the weak-kneed ones began to clamber up the

rocks in various directions, leaving their more stout-hearted
companions to bear the brunt of the. combat alone. Looking
‘about him in a lull in the combat, the chief saw that of his
entire band scarcely twenty backed him. the rest having either
ﬂed or fallen by the weapons of the white men.

,fl‘he appearance of the chief was fearful. His left arm
hadvbeen broken by a ball from a revolver, and hung useless
. at his side, but his right wielded a ponderons ax with deadly

eject. Another hall had grazed his temple, and the blood
' was running down his face. In two or three other places his

garments were stained with blood from wounds of lesser im-

portance. But, in spite of this, he fought gallantly, and en-

couraged his {ailing men, who were falling one by one under
the deadly weapons of the brigade.

"Yield, Negara, yield i” cried Elbert, as he struggled to get
near the chief, “ and by heaven you shall have quarter, if you
have not harmed Elsie or Wild Nat l"

I‘ Look for Wild Nat under the earth," cried Negarn. “ 1
ask no mercy at your hands, nor will I take any. Strike
on I"

. At this moment Wilson, who had raised his arm to strike
down Long-armed Dan, who was approaching him, received
his bullet‘ below the arm-pit. The powerful arm dropped
to his side, a. vacant look passed over his~faee, and like a giant
tree felled by the stroke of the ax-man, he came crashing to
the earth: ‘

 New saw that his last hope was gone, for in this despe-

ﬂ}! than he had conﬁded more than any other, and to the
r' 189%; some little hope that their united prowess might be

wetness“ M the tide of their enemies. I'rn. brigade,

‘

 
L menu-Fonz " v ‘ ﬂ

node a single rush, and the scanty remnant of the defenders

? - began to fall back rapidly, still dealing desperate blows. Ne?
' gara whispered a quick word in the ear of a gigantic Indian

who fought at his right hand, and with aheroic devotion very
seldom equaled, he reined his horse between his chief and the
Weapons of Dan and Elbert, who were rushing to assail the
chief. .
Negara forced his way through the ranks of his own men, -
and goading his horse with the edge of his hatchet, bounded
away. Something in his eyes, as he did this, warned Elbert
that this was not a coward’s ﬂight, but some desperate expe-
dient, and that they must sweep the few remaining enemies
out of their path and follow at once. They were only ten in' '
number, but those ten stood up for three minutesxagainst three
times their force, impeding their onward course. One by one I
they dropped, and at last a mad rush was, made, and
the last Indian went down before the bowie of Elbert Spen-‘
cer. '

“Forward, for heaven’s sake, Dan I" cried the young man.
“ There is no telling what he may do.”

Scoring their horses’ ﬂanks with their knives, the brigade
dashed on, in time to see the chief disappearing around
angle in the path, carrying Elsie before him, apparently sense-
lels. '

CHAPTER X

A STRANGE REUNION.

“ AFTER him I" cried Elbert. “ The win is desperate and
may harm her. Do not spare your horses.” ,

Even while he spoke, the horse he rode sprung madly for-
ward, as the keen point of a bowie pierced his ﬂunk. Longv
armed Dan was not far behind, and the brigade followed, ac-
cording to the speed of their horses.

“ He kain’t go fur," said Dan, as by a desperate eﬂ'oi't he ’
brought his horse level with that of Elbert. ‘ “ The! pengui- '
3 mile furder on." ‘ . ' ‘

    
/

 
l her.
f plunged 'he paused and feced them, holding the girl in a ﬁrm

h.
  ‘  I mmnnmn newness.

, [The] now had the enemy in full view, and saw that [he

/ muted in his saddle, and that the stones over which they

Veg-ending were spotted with the blood which dropped from
his many wounds. He pulled up at the entrance to the beers’
den, and leaped out of the saddle, still carrying Elsie in his
arms, and the next instant he was out of sight in the black
depths. They ran to the entrance and looked down, and snw
him walking with uneven steps over the stone ﬂoor, still car-

rying the insensible form of Elsie. What did he mean to
do}

4 .  Elbert end Den were quickly in the cave, and would haw

shot him down, but he carried the poor girl in such a way
that it was impossible to ﬁre without a chance of injuring
Upon the brink of the pit into which Wild Nut had

tlasp.

“ Take care what you do," he said. “ You see what is he-
'n'uid me, and if you shoot me, I fall into the pit, and she
 with me.” , ,

_ The voice was no longer that of Negara, the chief, but the
oily, silken tones of Curtis Melvin. and both cried out his
“name together in tones of execration.

“ Yes, the‘mnn you have hounded and hunted to his death,
'Negnrn, the Blackfoot chief. is Curtis Melvin," he said. “ You
know me—bewnre what you do.”

“ As i hope to be saved, Curtis Melvin,” cried Elbert, in
ngonized tones, “ if you will give her up to us, not. II nor any
one of my men, shall lift 21. hnnd against you.”

V “ Ay, you do well to promise that now—now when I am
hurt to death, and can have but a few minutes to live. I must

' die, but before I go I will take it revenge which you will re-

member through your life. You asked me, not long ago, to
' Iptu'e Wild Nat, the Gulch Terror. I will tell you now why
that is impossiblehihyou would like to know.”

‘ “ Where is he 1’"

It“, You see this dark cavity at my feet? He plungt'd into
this an hour ago, and the dnrkncss swullowed him up. That
7'98} ﬁtting end for him."

.i '3;le murdered him.”
' ’ I“ lie-leaped deem of his own accord, I tell you. Be cum

 
tul.
’ lad

for

[‘8‘

a my.

 
/

‘ ful, Dan ; it you ﬁre at me, I go down after him, and your
/ lady goes with me.

A-ha l 1 think I have you now.” .

“ Have some mercy,” pleaded Elbert. “ I will give my'l o
for her sake.” ' * 4

‘- Your life? What is your life to me? No,youlma’y
rather live and think of me and my revenge.” ' t \

“ Melvin, think before you do an act which will consign
you to an endless perdition.” - '

“Ha! ha] hat" he laughed, wildly, “As if I cared for,
that, with so many crimes upon my soul. No, no, she' goes
down with me, and you shall see it done."

Elsie began to struggle a little, and stretched out her
hands imploringly for help. He only clutched her 
ﬁrmly, and cried out to them to witness that they drove hint
to this. ‘ , 73‘

“ Oh, mercy," screamed Elsie. “ Do not kill me, Melvin;
do not doom me to this horrible death.” ' ,

“ It is something," cried the unhappy man, staggering .
from weakness—“something at least to hear you beg for
mercy at my hands, but I do not know the word. No,
no, come down with me into the black depths. We shall
rest well together in the caverns under the earth.”

The man was mad, let us hope. He must have been or
he could not have resisted those appealing hands and the
beautiful face uplifted to his. Elbert, seeing that he was in
earnest and that in another moment they must go down into?
the depths together, sprung madly forward to tear her from
his grasp, but they were tottering upon the) brink of the
chasm when he saw Melvin stagger back with a cry or hor-
ror, and half release his grasp upon Elsie. " ' ‘ '

‘ Out of the dismal depths of the pit rose the form of Wild L

Nat, as we have seen him before, the.watet' dropping from
his long hair and heard, and from his covering 0! skim His
hand grasped the terrible spear with which he had done such
fearful work, and a savage look passed over his face, a loolt
of detnoniac triumph, and he sprung at the throat o! Melvin.
with a yell which was full of triumphantmahce. - ‘ .
“ Back, back i” shrieked Melvin. “ Down to death, black
phantom. Why do you haunt me now that my hon: 'h‘
some 2” v y . ‘

I ’ U j t_

more  II ‘ I 

\t

  
. “Thevprophecy, the prophecy l” was the reply. “Give
me back my wife 1”

r The-next moment they were locked in a deadly grapple.
The excitement of the eminent lent Curtis Melvin unnatural
_ strength, and he, fought like a tiger. But, what could
\; a any ordinary man’s strength avail against the mighty power
of Wild Nat in the hour of his triumph? The form of Mel-
vin was whirled shrieking into the air, and sent crashing
down into the pit, and they heard his body strike with a dull
sound against the rocky sides as he descended. Wild Nat
reeled backward, covered his fuce with his hands, and fell
senseless to the earth beside the girl whom he had saved
3mm death. Elbert sprung forward and caught at Elsie and
carried her away from the dangerous vicinity, and Dan drag-
ged away Wild Nat, and then ran to the mouth of the cave.

“ Hurrah l” he shouted. “ Come down here, half a hun-
dred of you, and help us out of this. Glory to Gideon, if
this ain’t .bullyl I,kin outﬁght any thing in Oregon, by
I gracious 1, Come down, you ﬂghtin’ angels; come down, you

imps of Satan, and help me yell."

, , The cave was quickly ﬁlled with a motley group, many of

» them bleeding and all wild with excitement, and by their

,' help both, Elsie and Wild Nat were lifted from the cave and
carried up into the sunlight. Elsie soon recovered, and, sit-
ting by her lover’s side with her hand in his, told of the
pangs she had endured since she had fallen into the hands-
et Curtis Melvin.

. Wild Nat. lay as one dead, only the heavingr of his broad
 breast telling thathe still lived. The doctor pushed them al‘
, ’ ' back and took him in charge.

' " “This is an extraordinary case of syncope,” he said.
/ “Keep back all of you and let me work.”

Doctor Sabin was a skillful man, and only his great love
jot Nature and science had led him to take a part in these
wild scenes. His method of practice, hOchel‘, was at fault
here, and for two hours he worked over the strange being,

_ and still he lay in the same death-like sleep. Atlust his nos-
trils , began to twitch and he moved uneasily, and then,
Wgnhls giantlimbs, sat up and looked wildly about
him. '

/

\.

  
"s
\

M

 
‘-_.

' is. l,__..—g———

*“s - _. ___‘4_.« v __...~

\

min no assess; ' a ii 1

"‘ " Why, what is all this?” he said, in a wandering tone.
“ Where am I now 1’" ‘ '1" v

“ No matter about that,” replied Sabin, pushing Dan back ,
as he would have spoken. “ You have been sick and» I am '
your surgeon, and I forbid talking.” I '

“ I think you are right, doctor,” he said, ﬁngering his long r
beard rcﬂectively. “ Yes, you must be right. Why, my hair
and heard are grown out of all reason, and I think I should
be better for a good cutting." '

“ Let me be your barber,” said the doctor, taking a pair of
sbears from his case, and setting to work industriously. In
ten minutes most of the superahundant hair and beard which
had so long disﬁgured him were gone, and he sat before
them, a gigantic but remarkably handsome man, perhaps
forty years of age. The doctor had seated him in soch a
way that he could not see either Elbert or Elsie, and telling
him to be quiet he went and whispered something in her ear.

She arose and stepped quietly out of sight. behind the pro-
Jecting rocks, and the doctor came back and sat down near
him. /

“ You have been light-headed during your illness,'my dear,
sir,” said he, “ and I wish to see how far your cure is ef-
fected. Will you allow me to look at your eye ll” 

Wild Nat asented by a nod, and the doctor pushed back
the eyelid with his ﬁnger and looked into his eye, and turned
away with a satisﬁed air. v « 7 .'

“ Now, sir, can you recall past events? In the ﬂrst'plaé,
what is your name 1’" i h '

“Nathan Houston. Why do you ask that f" I

“ Never mind now. Think over the past and tell me what
you think proper. ’ ' . I v ’

“I was an engineer and land-surveyor in St. Louis, and.
started out with a party to cross the plains to one of' the
torts. The Indians were quiet and I allowed my wife and.
little (laughter togo with me, as I was, to be, stationed at the
tort for some time. We were attacked by Indians, headed liy
a young man, claiming to hem. white man, but as some} said
with Indian blood in his veins, and the 'whole party was cut
03. I remember being struck upon the head with'l’h'atgiﬁ,
and uftor am it is a blank to me.” 7 ‘4'” .

  
'  meme.

, . .i‘Do we know the name of the white leader of whom you
; . 'Ipeakf’ -
» » I: “,1 can tell you that, too. He came into the camp an
110“: ,rbcfore the attack and was kindly received, giving his
name asCurtis Melvin. Yet I am ready to make oath he
ledtho attack, although disguised as an Indian.”

“ And were allslaiu l” ‘

' “ All, all i My dear wife, my angel child, the brave men
who were with me, not one was spared. I shall live long
enough to find, this Melvin and kill him, and after that I am
ready to die.”

At this moment Elsie. obeying a preconcerted sign from
thedoctor, came out of her place of concealment and noise-
lessly advanced, and suddenly faced Nathan Houston. He
I ﬁpmng to his feet, looking at her in vague wonder and
/ , ’, 'doubt. , _ -
' ' ‘ “Rosalie! my wife!” he whispered. “Ah, no, that can

notth Who is this, doctor? Speak, before I go wild."

“ Do you see any thing familiar in her face 'r"
“ The image of my wife as she was when 1 ﬁrst knew and

Joved her."

I, “ Thisgirl, then.” said the doctor, slowly, “ was saved from

'such a massacre as you have described by an old guide, Peter

Vedder." '

I “Then she is mine I” cried Houston, clasping her to his
‘ 'heartmnd raining kisses upon her upturned face. “ My God,

I thank thee that this has been given me to soothe my wound-

‘od heart.”

The meeting is too holy for my pen.
hem! them”-

Let us drOp a nil

 
They descended the smoking pit in the bear‘s den next

, j day, and understood how it was that Houston had been saved

,1 from death when he leaped into it. Twenty feet from the
verge it was full of water, almost hot, causing the steam

A which hid the depths from view. And there, ﬂouting upon

, the tepid surface, they found the body of Curtis Melvin,

V whom theyyhad known as Negara. They raised the body

  ,it in the pass, with the bodies of his comm-

  
2"

I

 
v

    
‘ r V
MATH“?

0n the march to the fort, Elsie told her father what she
had known of tie man. In one of the forts where she had
passed two years of her life, she had met him, under another
name, and he had made many friends, but as they afterward
heard, he had come with intention of betraying parlies who
went out into the Indian country. They had loved and were
to have been married, had not a man who had suffered through

the-treachery of Melvin come into the fort and accused him»

In the struggle which ensued, the man was stabbed to the
heart, and Melvin, after being condemned for the crime, man-
aged to make his esrape, and she had not seen him since that
time until they met in the camp of the brigade. ‘

The fort was reached in safety, and Peter Vedder received '

his adopted daughter joyfully, and although he was grieved
to lose her forever, his love for her was too real not to make
him rejoice in the recovery of the parent, lost so many years,
and so providentially restored. I ‘

Six weeks after their return, Elbert and Elsie were made
man and wife, and the young man resigned his position un-
der the Company, and went with his father-in-law to Cali-,
fornia, where he had a large property, which was recovered
after some little trouble, as the deeds were in safe hands.
Long-armed Dan and his associates bade adieu to them with
heartfelt sorrow, but they were wedded to their'horder life
and would not leave it. ’

Nathan Houston is now one of the most, prominent public
men in the middle district of the Golden State, and Elbert

I is in the State legislature and rising 'rapidly. Houslomre-

members his ﬁfteen years of madness only as s ﬁtful dream,
Ind lives only for his daughter and her children. His you
nf sorrow are having their reward. '

 
‘~ " STAND‘RBJ‘IS 

DIME DIALOGUE

For School Exhibitions and Home Bntertadmmte.

ﬁre. 1 mil lnelueive. “to” Pnpulnr Diuleinee and Dremne in ueh hook. “Volume M
"mo pug", eent peet-pni , on receiyt of price, teu tente.

Beadle & Adams, Publishers, 98 William gt“ N. Y.

‘l‘h-ee volumes heve been prnpnrerl with especial referenne to their nreilnhlllty for Exhlhltlmg
Vim; (ldnliled .u srhuols nun 'mrlon With or without the furniture .11. unnamed lulled to SCHOL
(‘3‘ AND YOUNG PEOPLE of every rge,bov.h male and femnle. it. ie fair to mums that no
bwnlm in the market, at any price, cnntnlu eo many ueel'ul end eveliehie Alumna enddruu-
natiwe. humor end eentiment. '

DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 1.

.e Mueee. For nineynunzlnrllee. llohimhhlng. Forﬂve Beeline.

   
' . . e Englishman. For three bnye. The SecretofSucceee. -ur three ,
richnormmtion. For 'nele end femele. Your: America. Three melee ear two femelll.
ehlon. For two lndine. Jme inu'e Deltlny. Four Iemnlee, onemele
I _. layman]. 1.”... .ix b0 ._ rhe ‘olly of the Due]. For three main
Which will you Chooeel or twoheye. Dogmelluu. For three mule eye-hem

The Queen of May. For two little girle. The orent Confouuded. For two key.

The Ten Flirty. Forimirludi e. The net You" Mun. For-two mnlne.

Three Scene: In “'eddetl Life. Mnleend fomnle. The Yeur’e Rec onlng. 1‘1 fennel- xtt I we“
hire. Snillce' Coulee-ion. For male and female. [The Vlllege with One Gentlemen. "ﬁght
The Minion of the Spiritl. Five young ledlel. male end one mele-

DIME DIALOGUES N0. 2.

The Genlne of Liberti. 2 me end 1 female. How to Vrlte ‘ Po nler’atorlee. Que Deb
Cinderella or, The lttle Gi Slipper. The New end the id. For two melee '
Dole Goa nud Saying lied. S . A Senmtion n t. For two uni...
The lden Rule. Two melee and two l'elnnlee. The Greenhorn. or two melee, . l
The Gill. e! the Felry Queen. Severnl lemnlu. The Three Men 0! Science. For her lulu. '
Tekeu in end Done For. Ear two chnrectere. The Old Ledy’e Will. For four melee.
The Country Aunl’e Vieit to the City. For eev- The Little Phil-en here. For two littleglrh. ,

erul chair-uteri. How to Find an air. For ﬁve me

a Two Ron-um. For two main. The Virtnee. For elx young lullee.
fryln the Churncure. For three melee. A Connuhinl Eelogne. ,
The a py Funny. For several ‘nnlumle.’ The Public meeting. Flvemelee end mm ‘
The how. For eevernl :hnmcten. The English Treveler. For two melee.

DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 3.
H. May Queen. For en entire Ichml. The Genml Cont. For two melee.
On." Ruhrm Convention. For ten tnmnlee. Mnsterplefe. For two Inelee end two huh
Keeping Burl Cumnnny. A Fare-I. Fur ﬂve mnlen. The Two Romnne. For two melee.
Courting Under Difﬁculties. 9 innlue, \ leineln. The Snrne. Secnnd mne. Fovtwo melee.
.Xntionnl Reprelentntlvee. A Burlesque. 4 melee. Showing the White Feather. G mulee, I (email.
Inning the Druft. For numernul amine. The Battle Cell. A Recitelive. Fur one male

/ \ .
DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 4. -
The front King. Fnr ten or more "Plane. The Sinhb‘etown Volunteer. (melee, Ill-rule
Starting in Life. 'I‘hree mnlee nnvl lwu lemnl e. A'Srrne from “Pun! Pry." For four mnlae.
l'nith. H. m and Charity. For three little girl . l‘ne Clmrme. For lhreem euldone IbmllA
Dur'r ' In .lonn. For two males nwl chef-mm e. ‘llee, CIm-k end Broom. For three little girl-I.
l‘he uy. A Floral femv. i-‘or nix lilt'e girls. l‘h- Right Wu). ACoilogny. For two buye.
The Enchanted Prinreu. 9 mnlesLe-wnrnl femnlel “ hut lhn Lady" Saye. I'M two main.
“quarto Whom Hounr Ie Due. 7 malmuﬂ {elnnle The Crlmee u' Dreu. A Collnqny. For en. .r’
-“ *ntle Client. Foruvnul "lllll‘l, one female Tue ltuwutd o( Ben-valence. lot (an: nu!" . -
’: agy. A Dleeuulou. For tweuly "mice. The Lemr. I'or two melee.

' DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 5.
‘W Gimme. For er‘lnnl nr erlor, Il’ultlvll; An Alrn. A Cniioqny. Fm tw new!
ltlmmt- A “Three i'emm.’ " . .-.. The Stl'nlxht Merk. Iornevevel txr-
hlnd the Curtn'n. Far melee and (cruel-e.
he Eta Pi Society. Five boye mud n and"...
IxMI-luatinq Dav. Foreeverni lemuinnl-nrectere. Mil-tr ulllnnvy. All Aerlng Cherntle.
I'redluz in “TrePe. Fur-event mum. fr” ._.x \‘irtuee. Farrix vennglerlln.
Thefchtnl Bnye Tribunal. "For ten buys. ‘The lrielllnnrlet Home. or two meta
A Ix- .lee Tongue. Severe} mnm mad lemnlu. Funhlnnnhie Requirement. For three‘r'rle.
Hoe Not to Get on Annex. i‘nr two :‘enmlu vA Bcvy of 1’: (Eyes). For eighterleeehttiepm

DIME nmnoams, N0. 0. ,
fh' Way They Kept n Serve» Mel» A Mi 'QNIllh. The an Couneelon. FM three mela.

I‘M Poet under Dlﬂenltlee For five melee. The ntevlee 0! Fully For n number elf-Ink
't lam Tell. Fev a whale ulmol. A unt Betey’l Beenl. Your fem-lee end won-te-
5’ Ivnen'e Right- !even (emnlee and we melee. The Libel lull. Der tve femelee end one ll“ '

I I h m min elm Glut-re. Mule end ten-e1». Sum Clnnn. lore number other.
1.! e Gm; Jew. 'Iar eix melee. . (ital-tine: Felviee. Uer eevcrel Hell- wh- . '\
Ivaneunluenleue b-nio. The'ﬂteellep. ier-end. I

 
5
§
:

 
iExnm-t from Murine Fellern.

 
.‘i
,_.
\ l‘
\.

i'l‘wn lllene of Life. A Colloquy. For ‘01. [Ml ' -

   
   autumn- m1! Megan.

-44". ;: '11!“ 9111.30! SPEAKER. No. 23.

    
 40 M31", All about I Dov. ' Lam Chlnue mum, My nulghbor'n dogs,
‘I'quluu‘ldpyf Animal», Sandal, Tho manila" dentin-y ox Col-domed Mythology
4 I: I“. W in, A dark aldn vhw, the Iri-hmnn, Pmun.

{mu vgt‘llxuy. In! 1'. our uy muggy MrCnnn. Thu Noreluu,

 
an? r On cumin: dermnn, lSpr-y- from Jul: Bu Legends of 1mm.
ha d'Phhnrty on Jim Mary'l dun-ll vii» lamb lmxl, The "Alva-[d m trlutd:
’ nun‘. righuf ' A luauhy diunuru, Do Iircumnnuu ob dc A dokewr’l x ruhmu,
‘l'lu hymn m an. Inn: Tobluu- Mlprhk, nillwuﬂon. Tho cnmlng hum
they‘upukei," OI-l MILGrimu, Dar'l uulﬂu new nndor Thu illignnt any-h at
liclzkiuh Duwm on ~ parody. - d: nun, Muld-mn‘s.
‘ “Mb-w hI-‘nw, Mam and um, IA Nam-n religion: potm, Thu mu: mm: x -
‘l‘ didu" bell the farm. 8”] Underwood, pilot, ,‘Tlmt vioi‘m llm com”.
um tug Mary of Funk ‘ Old Grundyv mimic dellg‘ns, A [snow um int. 1
_ nun-um, Th4 pm paddle)”. orn- Our cundidnte'u vXewn, Au. inn-inn: I. I]
“ ‘ would I new a boy “on, 1Duudrenry'l windnm, blrd a! leurl} -
'mLJL, , Widdor Gmn‘l hm l’luin lunnuugu bylrulh- Th. crow,
6- M5“! Ivory, wards. i m June, 0n: wen.

DIME DIALOGUES No. 26.

m Minna and two gentleman. The leuon of matey. Two wry mull (kin.
[mu-And mohddlh. Six lidiumdnnnl‘l’uetlca win! you punch. Four India.

* “Winn. , Polltichn. Numeral“ chlnctorl.
‘ ‘ J an that» did 21$ w. Six how. The nnvmlng Agent. Two ml“ and hi:
ways m min; Inlay. Two um. zirh.

 
{om-lat.

4 In. your ankle“ bolpu way an -Grub. Two main.
I’m hdln and A boy. A nlipht lelro. Thm {mah- unl on. m];

hfdﬂu 10'. md var. 3 M I, I'Felulomnn. Embodied annihine. Threa young India.
and. Jab m0 rid of the hwy. wo mnlu, How J in: Pour (13d. Two ml“.
rill! M_m:tmnulwn.

 
'  Mnlmh r all L Nomdulorl on who" or win In M t l‘ mu.
. may mlyt‘oiprk'; 1‘0 unh’ﬁrh. r, ' n 'w P .9

mun .‘ ‘DLXIK Damon, Di Willi-n M. 3.1.
' I

 
.\

Y,“ Mblﬁa‘qrwnu'I—v ¢

i» .L...,( -\ 5w

s.—

A
1;

run

 
I)IME P0015113“?

1 "awkcye Harry.
Dead Mint.

Th - Buy
Blue Die ‘

Nat. \Volte.

The “'hlie Trucker.
The "nth: 'n \Yll~
The Tull '1 rupper.
Lightnlng Jo.

The lulnmi l'lrnte. ‘.
The Boy Ranger. (:6
"on, the Trapper. '
The French Spy.
Lung Shut.

The
lled "and.

lieu, the Trapper.
“'lld anen.

The ‘Speeter Chlet'.
The B'nr-Klller.
lld Va}

2
8

—::x-)::vi-:eté—::Zdaué

1 MMﬂHHH-‘HHFAH—I

' thidhold, the Sn}.
The Blue]. Shlp.
Single Eye.
Imllull Jl I.

The Se. It.

he Golden Harpoon.
The Sealp King.

- Old Lute.
‘ Rnlnholt, Ranger.
‘ The Boy l’ltlllk‘t'l“.
(Human. the UlllilC-
The Heart Enter.
“'etzel. the hem”.
The Ilnge Hunter.
Vild ’
Lyn.
The
H * Dog Trailer. H

-u'o- :

q
'l

11
I
4
4
4
ll.

In

3'97;
(é—C'Jl'.

3

o

H mm.

166 The Blaid m' “[yuuaaa'n-J;

167
168
169
170
171

172

\V

\‘Jrluu, the Pilot.

;‘.!Ut'('|l'-lll “I”.
he
The
The lllaek “Hull:
.Krknnmm Jael..
IHuelJ’x-urd.

G5 \Vild Nat, the Gulx-h Terror;

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PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY, AT TEN CENTS EACH.

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Merellerm Slut.

)Iad Antheuy’n Bounty.
The l4llt'lxlt‘hl 'l‘rnpper.
The Floridn Fen-lit.
The Island Trapper.

Ruttllng Diek.

l‘hnrp-l‘lyeu

Irun-Ilnnd

The Yellow Hunter.

The Phantom Rider.

Delaware Tom.

h‘llver Hille.

The Skeleton Seont.

Little Rllle.

The “'ood \V lteh.

Old Rntl'. the, 'l'rnmn-r. ‘

"l KL rleL bheuldern.
er thlelunn.

. no .

‘all. Nelnlnole.
Denth-lleuler.
Rnnxrer.
The NIH-vie: iI-nrwmnn.

The 'l‘ lam-e '1' rn [rm-n.

'nlenlah.

lhe iluuter Herculen.
l'hll Hunter.

Pt‘l'lll. .
’l‘he t-‘lrl Avenger. ‘
The Red llrrmih-M.
ﬁt:~r-l":|ee, the Huger. ‘
'l'i'e Ann-lope lie).
The Phantom Hunter.
Tum I’lnlle. the Flint.
The ‘l \\ hard.

The van] Trnpperﬁ.

I " The Mumw 5p).
‘ Hunky Dlek.

('nlmlel {'l'ueheil.
D {lid lh‘nr ’am‘.

llbl lv'edla“.
" )yild Rube.

104
10.3

e Indian Hunters.
.«enx'red Eagle.
\ Sek Dayle.
; The ludlnn Evy.
Jul) lfenn.
The \Vm'd K ..
’l'hom-ulpcd mter.
> Nlek, the Event.

nlmr 11d.

‘11]

_.__—A.‘_._._...__.._—.._n..~_.u

01‘. The Border XIHntress.
01'. The, (Mufer uf the Clans.

A Tale of the Tans Valley.

The Texan leer.
The Groaned Knives.
Tiger-Heart.
The Mun-lied Avenger.
The Pearl l'lrnteu.
Black Panther.
Abdlel, the Avenger.
Cat". the (‘ree er.
Twu-Ilnnded A at.
Mud Trull Hunter.
lllael.‘ Nick.
Klt Blrd.
The Speeter Rlderﬂ.
(-Ilant Pete.
The Glrl (Tantnhl.
Yankee EDh.
Sllvernnur.
Huuatter Dick.
The (‘hlld Spy.
.“lnk Cunt.
Red Plume.
. Clyde. the Trailer. “
‘ ‘ 'l‘he Lent Cache.
The (‘nnnlhnl Chlef.
Karnlhu.
M-nrlet .“neennln.

" Khlnnpned.

Maid oi‘the Mountuh..
The Solute Sennt‘.
“order Renegade.
Th e )l nte I Met;
"(HEII051lIl‘ Ilnnter.
Menntnlu Rule.
The Red Nenlner.
The Lone (‘hlell
The .‘ll‘rr Bugle.
('hlnlrn.thefheyenne.
The Tangled Trail.
The l'nreen llnnd.
The lmne lndlnn.
'l‘lu- Branded Brine. .l
Bill} linulegn.
T. e Va": 3' ~ieout.
R -l .laelmt.
J unule Scout.

ruLee (‘hll-l'.
'l he IEnndlY llermlt.

' ’I he l’ntrlul M-ouiu.
The “mu! Ituugzern.
The Red ‘ue.
lleantll'nl l'nLlwu u.
(‘nneln-uLe Mane.
llnnl‘. the Guide.

-n_¢___T__
u—chﬂﬁw—Rh

‘I;
elwzvhﬁ

I: 1513:} I51;

3:;

' 6-1 The Burden- Fewut.

By W.
By Jame

By Edward

or, TlL T‘Inhuvu (‘nyiivsn By Cath. F. C. Adams,

01', The “'hite Aim.

r .
25th.

By Mrs. Frances Fuller Bul‘l'itiz.

By Edward “'illett.
By J. Stanley

By Ed \I

BEADLE AND ADAMS, l’uollahers, 98 “'llllnm Street, New York.